Change of Heart
by Tempest Break
Summary: James Potter is obviously in love with Lily Evans, but she wants nothing to do with him, and this is the way it's been for six years. But in their 7th year, they're Head Boy and Girl and have to share a tower. James is rejoicing, but Lily...? COMPLETE.
1. Good News and Bad News

Change of Heart  
By Tempest Break

**Chapter One: Good News and Bad News**

James Potter lay on his four-poster bed staring at the ceiling, his messy black hair becoming messier with each time he swept his hand through it. Tomorrow was Lily Evans's birthday, and he was debating whether to send her a present by owl or not. He knew she hated him, and would probably throw out his gift before even opening it, but he was compelled to send her something anyway.

"Yeah, I'm gonna get her something," he said to himself. Now he had only to Apparate to Diagon Alley and buy her a gift. He had been cleared in his Apparition testing, along with his best friends, the roguish Sirius Black and the mysterious Remus Lupin. Their other friend, Peter Pettigrew, had yet to pass, but he was taking it again at the beginning of the year.

James stood off his bed and concentrated hard on Diagon Alley. Then there was a loud BANG! and the uncomfortable compressing sensation of Apparition, and he was suddenly standing outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. He was tempted to drift into it and get himself some ice cream, but he remembered his mission and headed to Flourish and Blotts, as he knew Lily was obsessive about her studies.

As soon as he entered the book shop, he caught sight of his least favorite person in the world – Severus Snape. Snape was browsing – James thought _lurking_ was a better word for it – in the Dark Arts section, and James was not surprised in the least. "Probably under the pretense of D.A.D.A. studies," he muttered, and considered strolling over and hexing him from behind, maybe a nice Impetus Crinis Jinx to make his hair grow into long tentacles and strangle him, but denied his desire and headed toward the Transfiguration section.

He remembered that one of their required books was _Advanced Transfiguration,_ and reached for it before thinking that he had seen Lily with it in fifth year, even though it was N.E.W.T. required reading. He went through four more books the same way before standing back from the impossibly high shelves and sighing.

"Doing some school shopping, Potter?" sneered a voice from behind him. "Your family must be so disappointed. All the money they've wasted _buying_ your grades."

James calmly turned around and eyed Snape from behind his glasses. "I see you're doing some errands for Voldemort, eh, Snivellus? You're in his Death Eater training program, aren't you? It's nice to finally fit in _somewhere_, innit?"

Snape's eyes narrowed. "Don't speak of things you don't understand, Potter," he said tightly.

"Oh, I _understand_," replied James. "You're just afraid of being caught by the Ministry. Don't worry. I'll keep your secret. I'm a regular Fidelius Charm in sneakers." He smirked.

Snape's mouth was set into a tense line, and he looked like he was about to reach for his wand, but instead he swept away with a flapping of black robes emblazoned with the Slytherin crest.

"You practice to get that flutter just right?" James called after Snape scornfully. He watched the Slytherin exit the store before turning back to the task at hand: getting Lily Evans a present.

After an hour of perusing Flourish and Blotts, he wondered in exasperation if he would ever be able to find a book she didn't already have. _Advanced Transfiguration; Hogwarts: A History, 900__th__ Anniversary Edition; Magical Tree-frogs of the Amazon: Fact or Fiction?_ He was certain he'd seen each of these books in her lovely hands at some time during their six years at Hogwarts.

He tried to think of other things to buy her. He could go to Madam Malkin's, but she didn't care much about robes, and James knew nothing about fashion anyway. He thought of his own favorite store – Quality Quidditch Supplies – but dismissed it, as Lily didn't play Quidditch, nor was she very interested. He started out of Flourish and Blotts, but something caught his eye. It was a sign that read, "Dark Arts - Restricted to Wizards Under 21."

James stole a look at the desk where the witch cashier was apathetically blowing Exploding Bubble bubblegum. He edged closer to the restricted area, feigning interest in the Divination section, though he knew nothing could be more boring.

Finally he was into the restricted section, and it was completely empty. He ran his finger along the spines of the books, looking for a good title, until one of them tried to bite off his index finger. By then he had found a few potential gifts, one of them called _The Dark Arts Outsmarted_ by Bellerophon Biggs, and another _Self-Defensive Spellwork_ by Artemis Arch. He knew Lily had a great interest in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and he thought she would appreciate getting books that were obviously rare. He checked the copyright information on both of them, and they had both been written in the 1300s.

He smuggled them under his robes before he found some Wizarding magazines. He grabbed a few and covered the two books with the magazines, then headed toward the cashier.

Thankfully, she looked new to Flourish and Blotts, and he got through without a problem, except when she noticed one of the magazines he had grabbed was _Witch Weekly_ with the headline, "How to Get a Bigger Bust in Three Easy Spells".

"Umm..." James fumbled around for a good excuse. "My sister asked for it. Yeah. I _told_ her, 'Your breasts are big enough!' but she just wouldn't listen. Heh, heh…"

The witch gave him a suspicious look but let him get away with the two books he really wanted. When he finally got back out on the streets of Diagon Alley, he caught sight of Quality Qudditch Supplies and found his feet walking over there without conscious permission from his brain.

"Well, who am I to deny them?" he asked himself and succumbed to the admittedly welcome whims of his feet.

He pressed his nose up against the window, looking inside the shop. He could see the new broom, a Cleansweep Four, rotated in the window display. He briefly considered buying it but remembered that his Nimbus 1000 was as good as the Cleansweep and less expensive. He stepped away from the window and caught sight of Snape sliding through the entrance to Knockturn Alley in the reflection. James scowled at the place where Snape had been but decided to Apparate home rather than waste more time on old Snivellus, so with a great BANG! he was back in his bedroom.

James crossed the room to his eagle owl Icarus. He removed him from his cage, handed him the package of books, and told him, "Take this to Lily Evans. She lives in Manchester, I don't know exactly where. You'll find it, right, Ick?"

Icarus gave him a slightly reproachful look (he always liked to know where James's friends lived so he couldn't get lost and was not entirely fond of the nickname 'Ick'), but took the books and the card James had already made and winged it out of James's bedroom window.

James asked his mother that night if Sirius or Remus (Peter was too busy practicing for his Apparition examination) could come over the following day, and she said yes. So James used his parents' old barn owl Helios to send invitations to Sirius and Remus, before retreating to his room again to wait for responses from any of them. He lay on his bed, trying to imagine Lily's face when she opened his presents, until he slowly fell asleep.

- - - - -

"Hey, wake up sleepyhead!" called a voice the next morning. "Cor, but you sleep more than I do!"

James opened his hazel eyes to find his best friend Sirius Black staring down at him, standing over his bed.

"Padfoot!" James exclaimed, sitting up. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, you invited me, didn't you?" Sirius said with a grin. "You wouldn't send a poor runaway off after he's come all this way, would you?" He went to sit on James's desk, but had to clear away a space barely big enough for him. "You really need to clean up around here, Prongs."

"You should talk!" said James, fixing his bed-head hair but leaving it slightly ruffled. He looked to see if Helios had returned with Remus's reply and found him sitting on Icarus's perch with a letter strapped to his leg.

James went over and removed the letter from Helios, opening it with his usual affected nonchalance. In the envelope, he found a letter with Remus's familiar, neat writing.

_Dear Prongs,_

_I was happy to get your letter, as I've been missing you, Padfoot, and Wormtail the whole summer. My mother wouldn't permit me to leave the house until a week after the July full moon, so I've been having a miserable time here. However happy I was, though, I'm sorry to say that I already have plans for today. I'm actually going to Lily Evans's birthday party. I promise that I will tell you all about it, Prongs, as I'm sure you would be interested. _

_Your werewolf friend,_

_Moony_

James dropped the letter in shock, still staring into the space where he'd held it. He could see those words – nearly an admission of betrayal! – still burning in the air.

"What's the problem?" asked Sirius, reaching down to pick up the letter off the floor. He read it quickly and then smirked at James. "I see," he said. "You a little jealous there, Prongs?"

"_No_," insisted James, mentally shaking himself. "I'm just surprised that Moony didn't tell me – _us _– before now. I mean, you must be just as shocked as I am."

Sirius raised an eyebrow apprehensively at his friend. "Oh, yes," he said. "I'm devastated that Remus didn't inform me of his party plans. Right torn up, I am." He took another look at Remus's letter, before gesturing to the window, where Icarus was tapping at the glass, a note strapped to his leg. "You going to get that or shall I?"

"That must be from Lily," James said, trying not to let his excitement creep into his voice.

"Lily?" Sirius looked surprised. "Didn't know you were in regular correspondence."

"We're not," replied James as he opened the window, letting Icarus in. "I sent her a present for her birthday."

"James, I think this is an appropriate time for the conventional Muggle wisdom: 'Can't buy me love'."

"Silly Muggles," James muttered. "Can't even speak good." He tore open the letter and his eyes flew over the loopy cursive writing that he watched flow from her delicate hand every day in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

_Potter,_

_While I appreciate the books on D.A.D.A., I wish you hadn't gone to get them. Now I feel as if I'm indebted to you, and there is no worse feeling in the world, I assure you. Just make sure to stay away from me when we return to Hogwarts, as I am Head Girl, and if you come anywhere near me, I can land you in detention. Keep away from me, Potter, or suffer the consequences._

_Yours (well, not really),_

_Lily Evans_

James frowned at the paper, and put it down on his desk, which was already overflowing with stuff.

Sirius, of course, read the letter, and laughed, "Well, well. Not _quite_ the profession of undying love one would hope for. You're getting closer, though, Prongsy. I especially like the part where she declares her own, unofficial, Head-Girl restraining order on you."

James turned to glare at his best friend. "She – She just doesn't – She completely – "

"She completely despises you? I'd have to agree with that," said Sirius, still grinning.

James sighed and leaned against the windowsill. Then suddenly he leapt up and shouted: "Wait, did you say – ?" He snatched the letter from Sirius's hands, reread it quickly, and then smiled widely, pumping his fist into the air. "Yes! This is the chance I've been waiting for, Padfoot!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow at him again. "What're you on about, Prongs?"

"Look, look! You were right, it says right here!" James thrust the letter in Sirius's face. " '_I am Head Girl and if you come anywhere near me, I can land you in detention!_' "

"Umm, yes," said Sirius uncertainly. "I'm still not understanding why this is a good thing."

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" asked James. Sirius shook his head. "Well, I'm Head Boy! And don't Head Boy and Girl share a common room off by the Astronomy tower?"

Sirius's mouth dropped open. "_You're Head Boy_?!" he said incredulously. "What – ? How does that work?! I coulda sworn Moony or even that stick in the mud Davies would be Head Boy!"

James shrugged. "It's not important. What _is_ important is that Evans is going to be sharing a whole tower with me! She can't avoid me now! And if she gives me a detention, I can just turn around and give her one... WITH ME!" He laughed, almost hysterically.

"Uh, James?" said Sirius. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Prongs, but couldn't Evans just request a room change?"

James's shoulders slumped. "Padfoot?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut the hell up."

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest**: Hellooo! I just wanted to write a Harry Potter fanfiction because I'm so upset about the demise of Padfoot. I was compelled to write one about Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs (Wormtail is evil, of course, though he'll be in it). I love anything from the Marauders' generation, so I like James and Lily, too, even if Sirius is my favorite character. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, read and review, and I will appreciate it greatly!

_7-30-07: I've decided to go through this story and revise the chapters to better fit canon. I can't completely demolish some things, though, because they're important to the story. If a chapter has been redone, there will be an italicized note at the bottom with the date it was revised. If not, keep in mind that this story was begun shortly after the fifth book came out and finished after the sixth book, so there was a definite lack of complete canon to go by. Anyway, this chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before. So far the only non-canon thing in the story is Lily's birthday, here slated for August 1 but in canon, January 30. Unfortunately, I couldn't change that because James's quest for a birthday present is important.  
_


	2. Moony's Information

Change of Heart  
By Tempest Break

**Disclaimer:** I always forget to do these... Um, anyway, Lily and The Marauders are not mine, nor is Hogwarts or any of the places or the teachers. The only things that are mine are the plot and any names or people you don't recognize.

**Summary**: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him. Will Lily have a change of heart?

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Two: Moony's Information**

Sirius spent the night that night, after convincing James's mother that nothing like the maple-syrup-and-feathers incident would happen again. He lay snoring in James's trundle bed.

It took James a while to drift off to sleep, which was unusual. He listened to Sirius's soft whistling for a while and thought of Lily Evans, the only girl he couldn't get.

It seemed that she liked any boy in the school better than him – even Snape, with whom she'd had some strange previous relationship James had never understood – even _Remus,_ James's best friend! _What's so much better about Moony than me, huh?_ James wondered. _We're both Marauders..._

But then he grinned, almost laughing. He couldn't wait until the school year began, when he would be Head Boy... He hadn't been so thrilled about the Head Boy thing; he had always resented the previous Head Students for trying to get him and the other Marauders in trouble. When he had received his letter, he had actually groaned in annoyance. But now! _Now_, with Evans as Head Girl, oh, what fun it would be!

Then James frowned again, though, remembering Sirius's words. _"Couldn't Evans just request a room change?"_ Surely she wouldn't! Evans wasn't the kind of girl to cause trouble for Dumbledore or the other teachers... was she? James wasn't all that familiar with her – obviously, as she wouldn't let him become familiar. He knew she was the kind of girl to cause trouble for _him_, but she didn't seem like she would bother Dumbledore without an extremely good reason.

"I could ask Moony, our resident Evans expert," James muttered quietly. His mood immediately darkened. "How can she like him better than me?"

Sirius snorted and flipped over in the trundle bed, mumbling something about forbidden passions in the common room. James made a mental note to tease Sirius about his apparent penchant for writing witches' romance novels in his sleep.

Then his mind turned back to Lily. James bit his lip thoughtfully. "I'll ask Moony over. He'll come this time," he decided, and got up out of bed in the pitch black to write to Remus. He muttered, _"Lumos,"_ and, by the little light that his wand gave off, wrote:

_Dear Moony,_

_Since you couldn't come over yesterday (It was Evans's birthday party, in case you forgot. I mean, not like you would forget. I certainly didn't forget.), I thought you'd want to come over today. I'm a little bored, so I thought it'd be cool to get as many of the Marauders together as possible. Speaking of the ol' gang, do you know if Wormtail could come? I guessed he's still practicing for the Apparition test, but have you heard at all from him? Anyway, run the idea by your mother, and see if you can come, okay?_

_Prongs_

He read over it once more, and then woke up Icarus, who had already come back from his hours-long midnight hunt, proving that James definitely could not sleep. The eagle owl hooted wearily and shot him a resentful look, but he took the letter and sleepily flew off in the direction of Remus's house.

"_Nox,"_ James whispered to his wand, and the light extinguished. He set his wand on his bedside table and curled up under the covers. Finally, Sirius's gentle snoring and composing of his international bestseller lulled him to sleep.

- - - - -

James awoke to a hard tapping at his window. He blinked blearily, fumbled around for his glasses, and, looking up, found that it was Icarus with a reply from Remus. He let his owl in and undid the envelope from his leg. Icarus hopped back into his cage and, with a happy hoot, fell asleep.

James opened the envelope and quickly skimmed the letter, which read:

_Prongs,_

_I would love to come to your house. Mother says it's okay, so I'll be there around noon. I haven't heard from Wormtail, but I'm sure he's quite busy with his Apparition, or else he would have had time to owl at least one of us. We probably shouldn't bother him – wouldn't want another splinching fiasco like last time. I'm fairly certain he can't have children as it is._

_Ever werewolfish,  
Moony_

Sirius was still sleeping, so, eager to return the rude awakening from the previous day, James shook him awake.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" demanded Sirius, who was always grumpy in the morning. "I was having a great dream about that Louiza Levene girl from Ravenclaw..."

"I know," James said. "You were narrating."

"Narrating?"

"Yes. In very romantic language, 'Monsieur Black'."

Sirius collapsed back down on his bed with a sigh. "Yeah, that was a great dream. Mademoiselle Levene sure knows her way around a boudoir."

James rolled his eyes. "Are girls all you ever think about, Padfoot?" he asked impatiently.

Sirius gave a look as if to say, "Now that I think about it... Yes."

"Well, anyway," James continued, "Moony's coming over around noon, so that'll be three of four Marauders. We could prank old Bathilda Bagshot, she lives just down the street..."

"A helpless old woman? Really, now. I think that's a bit much," said Sirius, but his eyes were shining with anticipation.

James grinned. "Oh, I should tell Mum that Moony's coming," he said.

"You sure she won't mind?"

"Oh, please," said James. "_You_ were the one she needed convincing about. She loves Moony, doesn't know he's a werewolf, you know. Probably flip if she did, though"

"Yeah, her little Jamey-James might get hurt playing with a big, bad werewolf!" laughed Sirius.

James's face flushed. "How did you know she calls me – ?!"

"Oh, boy!" Sirius roared with laughter. "Remember in fourth year when our prank on Snape backfired and hit us in the face? Our skin was rotten for a week, and we were stuck in the Infirmary. Your mum came in once while you thought I was asleep, and she started cooing over you, calling you her darling Jamey-James. It was hilarious! I had to hide my laughter by coughing."

"And I thought your coughing fit was a side-effect of the curse," muttered James.

Sirius grinned widely. "More like a side-effect of a couple past their prime producing an only son." Suddenly a loud gurgle filled the room. Sirius patted his stomach and said: "Well, I think I'm about ready for some breakfast. Will your mum make French toast?"

"Just what is it with you and France, Padfoot?" James asked apprehensively.

"_Je ne sais pas_," Sirius replied with a smirk.

James rolled his eyes. "She probably will," he said. "She always does when you're here. Something about taming the savage beast."

"Brilliant," Sirius said, grinning. "Let's get to that kitchen table, then!"

Sirius was there even quicker than James, eagerly awaiting Clara Potter's serving of French toast. James's mother was not a tall woman, but not a short one either; thin, but not very. She had curly, gray-streaked, red-blond hair and hazel eyes, over which she wore glasses. She was not strikingly beautiful, but she made people feel special, and that was what James loved about her.

"Well, well, Mr. Black," she said jokingly. She tapped her chin with a large, wooden spoon. "How are you this fine day?"

"I'm quite well, Ma'am, and you?" asked Sirius, playing along.

"Good enough," answered Mrs. Potter with a smile. "Now, what would you like to eat, then? Maybe..."

"French toast!" Sirius and Mrs. Potter said in unison.

"What a surprise," said Mrs. Potter with a tolerant eye-roll. "Okay. I'll get it started. Good morning, James."

"G'morning, Mum," James greeted, throwing Sirius a look like, "What was that all about?" "Remus is coming over today, that okay?"

"Of course. Remus is a lovely boy," said Mrs. Potter, gathering the ingredients for her French toast. "What time?"

"Around noon," answered James, taking a seat beside Sirius. He flicked his wand, and dishes and a few forks, as well as a container of syrup, floated to the kitchen table and landed in front of him and Sirius.

At that moment, James's father walked in, adjusting the tie on his plain black robes. He swiftly kissed James's mother and smiled at James and Sirius. David Potter had the messy, black hair and Potter features, except that his eyes were startlingly blue while James had his mother's hazel ones. Mr. Potter also had no need for glasses, a result of his perfect vision. James was a little jealous – not having glasses would have helped to execute pranks.

"Late again, Dad?" asked James, smiling.

Mr. Potter nodded. "As usual," he said to James. "I'm so, so sorry to rush, but there's a new case in the Department of Mysteries, and there's a hearing happening at 10:30... and it's already 10:25. I've gotta run! Bye, dears... Oh, and Sirius, too!"

"See ya, Mr. Potter," called Sirius, as there was a loud BANG! and Mr. Potter was off to the Ministry of Magic, where he worked in the Department of New Spells and Charms, where imaginative witches and wizards devised new magical spells to help the wizarding world.

"Always late, that man..." muttered James's mother, but there was an affectionate smile on her face.

Sirius wolfed down four helpings of Mrs. Potter's French toast and would have eaten more if there were any. James only ate one piece and watched in amazement as Sirius guzzled straight syrup from the jug.

"How can you do that?" asked James in equal parts awe and disgust. "Just watching nauseates me."

Sirius tapped his lips with a napkin regally and said, "Secrets of the trade, Prongs."

Mrs. Potter returned from the laundry room at that moment and caught sight of Sirius's sticky face and the half-empty syrup jug. "Excuse me, Mr. Black," she said, "but it seems we're halfway to another syrup-and-feather incident, and I believe we have a verbal contract…"

"Sorry, Mrs. P.," Sirius apologized, wiping his face. "Won't happen again."

By then it was 11:30, and they had only thirty minutes before Remus's arrival. They changed from their pyjamas into their summer clothes, and Sirius borrowed James's old Comet 220 while James soared on his Nimbus 1000 out in his huge backyard. As James's father had loved Quidditch as a boy, there were Quidditch hoops, a Quaffle, Bludgers, and even a Golden Snitch, as well as equipment for any position you desired to play. James was the Captain and Seeker of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but he had trained as Keeper, Chaser, and Beater while he was young, so he was quite good at any position. Sirius played Keeper while James tried to score with the Quaffle, which was the easiest ball to take out, as it didn't move of its own accord, and if you lost it, you wouldn't have to fly all over looking for it again. Once James had been playing with the Snitch and had had to stay out until four in the morning looking for it.

Just as James scored another goal on Sirius, he heard the telltale BANG! of a wizard Apparating. "Moony's here!" shouted James, and he lowered himself to the ground.

A moment later, Remus Lupin stepped into the backyard. He was a little pale, as always, but by his standards he looked quite well. With his rather long, dull brown hair and milky blue eyes, Remus always had a gentle look to him. He was the least inclined to play tricks of the Marauders, and yet he was, more than anything else, the reason they were Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. James sometimes wondered whether, if Remus hadn't been there, the Marauders would have existed at all.

"Hey, Remus!" called Sirius, touching ground after retrieving the Quaffle James had just thrown.

"Hello, James, Sirius," answered Remus with a small smile. "It's nice to see you both again. It's been quite boring at the house with just me and Mother."

"I bet," said James. "Anyway, you wanna tell us what you've been up to this summer?"

Remus sighed softly. "Nothing much," he said. "I've read a few more books, though I know that you two don't approve of Marauders reading. You have to understand, it's the only thing to do in my house. Other than going to Lily Evans's birthday party and coming here, I've done nothing."

"Speaking of Evans," said James, pleased to be presented with an easy lead-in to what he really wanted to talk about, "why'd she invite you to the party, anyway? You're just as Marauder as the rest of us."

"Well, I suspect it's because we were Ancient Runes partners last year, and we got to know each other well then," Remus told James. "She's a very bright girl, you know. Quite pleasant."

James's mouth dropped open. "You were Ancient Runes partners with Evans?" he nearly shouted. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Well, it was at the time we found that troll in the Forbidden Forest, and I didn't think it was important enough to bring up," said Remus logically.

"Not important – ?! Moony, do you realize – ? Sirius and Peter and I – in the dark – "

Sirius cracked up. "Oh, come off it, Prongs. Remus was perfectly justified in not telling you. I'll bet you didn't tell just 'cause you knew he'd act like this, right, Moony?"

Remus gave a slight smile.

"See?" Sirius gestured demonstratively at Remus. "And don't bring me and Peter into this, James. We're not all the Lily-obsessed manic-depressives you are."

"I thought you were my friends! Fellow Marauders!" James said indignantly. "If you would keep something like this from me..."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Calm the bloody hell down," he said. "It's only Evans, and while we know that you're completely whipped – "

"_Whipped_?" James said hoarsely. "You think I'm _whipped_? _Evans_? Oh, Padfoot, you are so wrong, my friend."

" – it doesn't give you the right to yell at us for withholding information," finished Sirius.

"Don't worry, James," said Remus. "Lily did mention your name to one of her friends."

James perked up. "Really? What'd she say?"

"I think she said, 'That prat James Potter sent me a_ gift_. I can't believe it. Doesn't he have enough girls in his fan club?'"

James groaned. "Can I do no right?"

"She's right, though, Prongs," Sirius said. "The Fans of James David Potter Association does seem overflowing with randy losers in your pursuit. Not much room for a girl you're actually interested in."

James ignored Sirius's joke and went to toss the Quaffle and brooms in the Quidditch shed. "I just know she's gonna hex me from here to Timbuktu when we're Head Boy and Girl," he muttered.

"You're Head Boy?" asked Remus with surprise. "And Lily told me she's Head Girl… So you'll be sharing the Head Tower, won't you?"

"Yep," said James, smiling. "Twenty-four-hour opportunities to win Evans over."

"Don't worry, Prongs," said Sirius. "She'll fall for you, certainly!"

Remus nodded. "A wise wizard once said, 'Hate is not the opposite of love; it's indifference'."

Sirius jerked his thumb in Remus's direction. "By that standard, she oughta fall desperately, stalkerishly in love with you by week's end."

James smiled a little wider, feeling much better. His friends could always cheer him up – that's what the Marauders' creed was!

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** So, how was the second chapter? I liked the first a little better, but it'll get very interesting once they get to Hogwarts. I love the Marauders! Oh, and Gypsy Lupin-Blackyou're right, Wormtail was as much a Marauder at Hogwarts as the rest of them... I just can't like the guy, though! He put Sirius in Azkaban! But I'll keep in mind what you said. Maybe he'll change through the course of the year... Irish Rose;This isn't my first fanfiction, but it is my first HP one. Um, thanks to everyone else who reviewed! I'm happy with this story... WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE, SIRIUS??? WHY???

_7-30-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before. The only non-canon information in this chapter is James's position as Seeker on the Quidditch team. Although it's canon in the movies, JKR said he was Chaser. I can't really change it, because it would be too difficult to alter the Quidditch scenes. I also added Mr. and Mrs. Potter's first names. _


	3. Head Boy and Girl

**Change Of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: The Marauders, Lily, Hogwarts, Dumbledore, and anyone else that you recognize don't belong to me, so don't sue me! Only a few things belong to me, like the plot and Louiza Levene (the girl Sirius had a dream about), though she probably is completely irrelevant to the plot.

Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Three: Head Boy and Girl**

In a little less than a month since the day three of four Marauders had assembled at the Potter abode, James found himself back at King's Cross Station, awaiting a lull in the Muggle pedestrian traffic so he could casually slide through the divide between platforms nine and ten. He could hear the Muggle girls giggling as they passed him, but he was accustomed to it; it was the same in Hogwarts, with all the girls swooning over him in the hallways, cheering louder than seemed humanly possible when he stepped onto the Quidditch field – not to mention the Fans of James David Potter Association, although those girls admittedly fell short of desirable. Still, he smirked, thinking of all the female faces he had seen gazing in awe at him at last year's final Quidditch match, as he dove straight down to retrieve the Snitch, hurtling toward the turf, and stopped just half a foot from the ground.

_Evans never did any swooning, OR cheering, OR gazing in awe,_ he thought suddenly, his mood darkening. In fact, he couldn't remember a time he had seen her looking at him other than in Defense Against the Dark Arts, when they sat next to each other, and even then he could only remember glares. He stood straighter, realizing something. "Has she even ever _come_ to a Quidditch game?" he wondered aloud.

"Hi, Prongs," said a squeaky voice. "Is there something wrong with the platform?"

James looked down to see the last member of the Marauders, Peter Pettigrew. Peter had already-thinning blond hair and a pointy nose, with some freckles dotting his cheeks. He was the one to appreciatively clap and cheer for James and Sirius whenever they did something particularly rebellious, and, while sometimes he got on Sirius's nerves, James thrived on the attention.

"Hey, Wormtail," James greeted. He waved his hand dismissively at the barrier. "Nah, there's nothing wrong. I was just thinking. Let's go, eh?"

Peter nodded. They both slid through the divide with their luggage, and they were on platform nine and three-quarters. "Well, this is the last time we'll take the Hogwarts Express to school," James remarked. "Kinda sad, huh, Wormtail?"

"Practically the end of an era," Peter replied gravely.

"Better leave our imprints all over that school," James commented. "Are you prepared to inflict some permanent damage, my good man?"

"If you're prepared to look the other way while Padfoot, Moony, and I wreak general havoc and mayhem," he replied with a sigh. "James Potter, Head Boy. Who woulda thunk it?"

"Not I," said James.

"I suppose you'll just have to live vicariously through our stunts, eh?"

"You'd better make them worth living, Pettigrew," James warned, "or maybe I _won't_ turn my back."

Peter laughed squeakily. "There's Moony," he said, pointing out Remus, who was standing with a rather thick tome near his luggage.

Remus was looking his best again, as the August full moon had passed about two weeks ago. James knew that, while Remus never looked forward to the full moon, he especially hated it during the summer. His mother would lock him up in the cellar until he turned back again, and he had no companions, as their house was near the woods and there was no one around for several miles. By comparison, the Marauders' visits to the Shrieking Shack were a holiday.

Remus looked up as James and Peter approached and closed his book after carefully marking his place. "How is your Apparition coming, Wormtail?" he asked.

"Good!" said Peter excitedly. "I think I'll pass the test this time!"

Remus smiled. "Well, let's get on the train. Padfoot is always late, as you know. It's no use waiting for him."

They boarded the Hogwarts Express and found their usual compartment. There were a couple of first years occupying it, but they scurried out when they caught sight of James. One of them whispered to another, "That's James Potter, the leader of the Marauders. My brother told me about him..."

James smirked as the first years left the compartment, happy that his name was already feared and awed by the underclassmen. _It's for their benefit, really,_ he thought to himself as he took a seat and stretched his legs out before him, ready to casually look through his glasses at anyone who entered.

Just as the train began to pull away from the station, Peter spluttered so hard that pieces of the Chocolate Frog he'd been eating sprayed across the train window. "P-Padfoot!" he stuttered, pointing shakily out the window.

James and Remus leapt from their seats to watch as a huge black dog bounded alongside the train, causing several of the remaining parents to scream and clutch their younger children protectively. Tongue lolling, the dog managed to leap sideways and catch the train just before it left the station. It let out a triumphant howl to mirror the Hogwarts Express's whistle.

Remus shook his head. "Wizards don't come more reckless than Sirius Black," he said.

Moments later, Sirius burst into their compartment with his trunk and his obnoxiously loud owl, who was appropriately named Siren. He sighed in relief. "Wow, that was close, eh?" he said. "I had to turn into Padfoot to catch it." Upon noticing Remus's disapproving look, he said, "Oh, don't worry. Nobody saw me."

"How can you even say that?" Peter asked. "At least a dozen women screamed for animal control. I'm fairly sure some bloke with an elephant tranquilizer gun will show up any minute."

"I meant nobody saw me _transform_," Sirius clarified, tossing a cloak over Siren's cage to hush her and shoving his trunk above the seats with the others.

"Good," said Remus, "because you know what would happen to you if they find out you're all unregistered Animagi."

"Don't worry so much, Moony," said Sirius, waving it off. He sat down on the bench, throwing his arm over the top of it and adopting a lazy grin.

"I _wouldn't_ worry so much if you wouldn't pull stunts like your recent train-station marathon," Remus retorted. "If you had any sense, you would've got here earlier to make it on time."

"I _did_ get here early, thank you very much," Sirius replied indignantly. "How d'you think I got my stuff on the train, huh? Can't very well tie myself to it like a sled dog. I put it all on the train before any of you slackers got here."

"So where were you, then?" asked James.

"There was a cute Muggle girl on the other side of the barrier," he said defensively.

Remus groaned and rolled his eyes, but apparently decided to give Sirius up as a lost cause. "Prongs," he said, "shouldn't you be going to a Head Student meeting? I remember there's always a prefect meeting on the train to Hogwarts..."

"A meeting?" asked James, sitting forward in his seat. "Aw, I'm gonna have _responsibilities,_ aren't I?"

"They usually come along with the Head-Boy territory," Remus said drily.

James groaned. "Okay, Moony. Where do I go?"

"Up front, there's the prefect carriage, the very first one. I've heard it's great. I think you're actually supposed to stay there for at least part of the ride," he said, "then you patrol for the next."

"Sounds like a certain redhead firecracker with a penchant for rules will be up there, too," remarked Sirius with a waggle of his eyebrows.

James smiled a little. "Is that so? Well, if Evans is there... I'll see you losers later."

"Go get her, Prongs," Peter called as James exited the Marauders' compartment.

James made his way to the front of the train, where he found the prefect carriage. He was amazed at how nice it was. The carpet was soft underfoot, colored red and gold for Gryffindor, as both he and Lily were from that House. There was a small food cart just for them, filled to the brim with Chocolate Frogs, Exploding Bubblegum, and Every-Flavor Beans. There wasn't a vendor there, but James suspected the cart was spelled to keep the students from stealing – although presumably they had access to this prestigious carriage for their honor. He hoped, for the school's sake, that they'd taken precautions for this year. James knew that if it hadn't, the Marauders would be on permanent sugar high until Christmas.

He heard the door to the carriage opening behind him, and a girl's voice saying, "Oh, hello. You must be Head Boy. I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier. Have you been waiting long?"

James turned around, preparing to savor the moment that realization dawned on Lily's pretty face. "Hey, Evans," he greeted with a casual grin. "How's it going?"

Lily Evans's mouth dropped open in shock. James watched the seventeen-year-old girl work her jaw while no sound came out. Her emerald green eyes were wide. "_Potter_?" she gasped incredulously, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Look, _Potter_" – she spat out his name as though it left a bad taste in her mouth – "I know you think you're royalty, but this is the prefects' carriage. If you don't get out this instant, I will have to give you detention."

"Why would I get out, though?" James asked innocently. "I have just as much right to be here as you."

"In case you haven't read my letter, I'm Head Girl," said Lily, almost prissily. "I'm supposed to be here for a meeting with whoever is Head Boy."

"Well, let's get started, then," said James happily. He sat down on the cushioned bench and enjoyed Lily's look of complete surprise, with a touch of anger.

"You can't mean to tell me that _you're_ Head Boy?!" she nearly shrieked.

James blinked, telling her that he didn't want to waste breath explaining it to her.

"This is – this is – _awful_!" exclaimed Lily, as she began to pace quickly. "I can't believe it. I'm going to have to share Head duties – with _you_?"

"Oh, come off it, Evans," said James uncomfortably, wary of her nearly manic pacing. "It's not as bad as all that."

"Yes, it _is_," said Lily, still pacing. She didn't seem to notice she was doing it. "Well, there's a simple solution. I'll just have to request not to have to do anything with you. Quite simple, actually."

James nodded. "Yes, simple," he agreed. "Now let's work out bathroom privileges. I say I take my showers first in the morning, and then you. How does that sound? Or are you the type to go first?"

Lily looked as if she couldn't comprehend what James was saying. "Stop talking rot, Potter," she said.

"I'm not talking rot," he answered with a smile. "We should figure out what times we each get to the shower, since we'll be in the Head Tower together..."

For the second time that day, Lily's mouth fell open. "No..." she whispered. "No, I have to share the Tower with... _you_?! That's just – not – I can't – "

"Really, this is getting old fast, Evans," said James. "Just admit it. You pine for me, you just don't want to give in to the Potter charm. It's a very clever ruse, really. Your seemingly complete abhorrence of me really draws me in. Bravo."

Lily actually looked offended. "_Me_? Pine for _you_? I've never heard such a ridiculous thing in my life," she said, nearly laughing.

James frowned a little. He could not detect even a hint of a lie. It was exactly the way someone would respond if it wasn't true... _But it has to be! She must like me, it's impossible not to,_ James thought. His frown disappeared so as not to let Lily see he had been upset.

"I utterly despise you, Potter," she said, and James was reminded of what Sirius had said, _"She completely despises you? Well, I'd have to agree with that."_ "Now, I'll just have to request a room change, then. Still quite simple."

"Do you really want to cause that much trouble for Dumbledore?" asked James, desperately hoping that another of Sirius's predictions wouldn't come true – one was scary enough as it was.

Lily hesitated for a moment, and James knew he had her. "I mean, he's busy enough with Voldemort out there..." He looked for her to flinch at the sound of his name.

But Lily didn't flinch. She stood quite still, and if James didn't know better, he would have said she was Petrified. "Evans?" he asked. "What's wrong with you, huh?"

A muscle clenched in her jaw, but she said nothing. Just as soon as the strangeness had come over her, it was gone. "For once, you're right, Potter," she said, as though admitting defeat. "Professor Dumbledore has enough on his mind. I won't bother him. But _you_ had better not bother _me_, either."

James just smirked, declining to make any promises.

Lily sighed and tugged at her thick red hair anxiously. "Well, I can't deal with this right now," she muttered, almost more to herself than to James. "I think we're supposed to go talk to the prefects in the next carriage down. Or are you above that, Potter?"

James shrugged nonchalantly.

"Can't you answer with _words_ like a normal person?" she hissed impatiently. "Well, I'm going to the holding carriage. If you won't deign to join us, I won't wait up." She turned and swept away, her robes swirling around her legs.

James smirked and stretched languorously before standing up from the comfortable benches and exiting the same way Lily had. It was truly interesting, watching that girl yell at him. No other would have the audacity to, and that's what intrigued him.

As soon as he entered the next carriage, all faces turned towards him, and only Evans's wasn't admiring. The fifth- and sixth-year prefects all gazed at him in awe, and James rediscovered what he'd been sure of all those years at school: that all the girls wanted to be with him and all the boys wanted to be like him, and he was proud of it.

Alecto Carrow, a fifth-year Slytherin and prefect only by merit of her sycophantic ways, smiled nauseatingly at James. James was a pureblood, and therefore Alecto – a die-hard follower of the anti-Muggle-born creed – considered him fair game. James, however, looked upon her with the utmost distaste. She persecuted Muggle-born wizards and witches, and James suspected that she was eager to graduate and join her brother Amycus among Voldemort's ranks.

"You're Head Boy, James?" asked fifth-year Jake Bell, who was a Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"That's right," said James with a grin. "Softer punishments for everyone!"

The prefects cheered, still not used to the idea that they could _issue_ punishments rather than endure them.

Lily frowned. "Potter, I hope you'll take your job seriously – "

"Mudbloods should be seen and not heard," snickered the sixth-year Slytherin prefect in a whisper that was obviously meant to be heard.

"They shouldn't even be seen," scoffed Carrow in an equally exaggerated whisper.

James frowned at the two of them. "Ten points from Slytherin," he said immediately, "for inappropriate name-calling."

Carrow and her older partner scowled, but said nothing. To James's surprise, they weren't glaring at him, but at Lily.

"Potter..." Lily began, but James saw with surprise and delight that she seemed to appreciate his sticking up for her, even if she didn't want to admit it.

"Yes, Evans?" asked James innocently, batting his eyelashes. Jake Bell laughed appreciatively.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's just get down to business," she said, turning to the other students in the car. "As prefects, your job is to make sure no students cause problems. You can deduct house points and give out detentions, as long as you clear them with a teacher first. If you abuse your duties as a prefect, you will be stripped of your badge and lose your status. I don't want to hear of any of you misusing your rights.

"On the bright side," she continued, "you have your separate bathrooms and a common room for prefect meetings. Both are near the Astronomy tower, near where – _Potter _– and I will be staying in the Head Tower. Don't hesitate to call a meeting, if you feel it's important."

"Yeah," agreed James. "If it's not important, don't bother me and Evans, 'cause we're gonna be _busy_." He raised his eyebrows suggestively at her.

The prefects – except the Slytherins, who looked slightly ill – laughed. Lily grimaced, and said, "Potter and I will _not_ be 'busy,' so don't worry about contacting us. But ironically enough, Potter, you have reminded me of something we actually need to talk about. If you find any students after hours participating in... displays of affection, let's say... you may give them detention without assent from a teacher, as long as you get both students to sign the detention slips."

"But if you catch me and Evans, we can overrule you," James put in with a grin at Lily.

Lily frowned at him as the prefects, again without Carrow and her House-mates, laughed appreciatively. "If you're done, Potter," she said angrily, "I'd like to at least _see_ my friends before we reach the castle."

"Oh, I'm done," said James. "You wanna bring your crew over to the Marauders' compartment?"

"No. In case you've forgotten, we have a duty as Head Boy and Girl to patrol for the remainder of the ride," Lily said. She looked back at the prefects. "You may go back to your friends' compartments, if you want, or you may stay in the prefects' carriage. We'll be arriving at Hogwarts in about twenty minutes, so you might want to get your robes on. Potter and I will see you at the castle. Good day." Lily made her way out of the prefects' carriage and into the regular train.

"See you," James called as he made his way after Lily.

"Bye, Cap'n," yelled Jake Bell. "Good luck!"

Lily was walking quickly, but James managed to get in front of her. He braced himself against the wall of the train corridor with his arm and grinned at her. "So, Evans," he began, "you sure you don't wanna come with me?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I would rather be trapped in a closet with Alecto _and_ Amycus than go anywhere with you," she retorted. "Now kindly get out of my way." She tried to push past him, but James, at nearly six feet, was much taller than she was.

"Where are you going, Evans?" asked James.

"Away from you," she answered primly. She stepped back and glanced from James's face, to his arm, and back again. "You going to get out of my way, or should I hex you?" She reached threateningly for her wand.

"No need," said James, knowing full well the power of her hexes. He turned and strode away from her. "Hey, I'll see you soon, eh, Evans?" he called over his shoulder. He heard an angry groan issue from her, and he smirked. He hadn't even reached Hogwarts yet, and already he was having fun.

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**Tempest:** Hiiiii. I'm so happy with this fic... I like it a lot. Now I'm convinced that Harry Potter fics are the only way to go... Anyway, review, review, review!!!

_7-31-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	4. The Feast

Change of Heart

Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. If it did, Sirius would not have died, and we would learn more about the Marauders' generation. But Jake Bell (Katie Bell's father), Mr. and Mrs. Potter's personalities, and Icarus, to name a few, do actually belong to me! But hardly anything else does, so don't sue me, pleeeease!

Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?

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**Chapter Four: The Feast**

When James opened the door to his compartment, he found Sirius and Peter engaged in a game of wizards' chess, while Remus continued reading the large book he had been with earlier.

"Well, this is a quiet trip for the Marauders, isn't it?" James remarked, closing the door behind him and looking on his three friends with apparent disapproval.

Sirius shrugged. "S'pose so," he said, still absorbed in the game. Suddenly he snapped his fingers. "Aha! Knight to E5." Sirius's white knight beheaded Peter's black queen, and Sirius, still triumphant, turned to James. "So, how'd it go with Evans?"

"Not too bad," James lied as he took a seat next to Remus, his Head Boy duties obviously forgotten. "I'm keeping in mind what you said, Moony. About hate not being the opposite of love. Rather more of a pepper-upper than anything else lately."

Remus looked up from his book. "Well, I'm glad to be of service, Prongs. But Lily is a strong-willed girl, and I'm not sure if she'll give in to you if you use the same tactics you normally use," he said.

"'Course she will," said James positively. "Who could resist me?"

"I could," Sirius volunteered, watching as Peter advanced his bishop to threaten Sirius's offending knight.

"I second that motion," added Peter. "Having little deer-babies doesn't have quite the appeal it used to."

"Well, rat-children are hardly cuddly little puppies, either," James said, rolling his eyes. He turned back to Remus. "So, Moony, is there anything else you can tell me about Evans?"

"You've been in classes with her for six years, James," said Sirius, "how much is there left to know? I'm sure we could each write a biography on Lily Evans."

Peter looked at Sirius. "A biography?" he repeated.

"Well, maybe an unauthorized biography," Sirius amended.

"Perhaps _you_ could, she doesn't hate you to your very core," James pointed out. "All I know is that she sits next to me in D.A.D.A. and doesn't enjoy it nearly as much as I do." He clapped Remus on the back. "Which is why I've turned to my good friend Moony."

"Sorry to disappoint you, James, but I know next to nothing about Lily, except that she's excellent at Ancient Runes," answered Remus.

"How can't you know anything, Remus?"

"Well, I don't make it my crazily-obsessed business to know."

"You must know something else, though. Her favorite color? Bra size? Exact specifications for her Prince Charming?" James persisted.

"Sometimes she would meet with some Ravenclaw boy – don't know his name," said Remus, "but I never saw them do anything but study. I suppose she might have been his Arithmancy partner."

James sighed. "You're no help, Moony," he said.

Sirius and Peter finished their game, and Peter squeaked, "We'll be getting to Hogwarts in ten minutes. We should put on our robes."

They all pulled their black, Gryffindor-crested robes on over their clothes, and James pinned on his Head Boy badge. He grimaced at the thing. "Well, this is demeaning," he muttered.

"Maybe the girls will like it," suggested Sirius. "I've heard they go for wizards in uniform."

Finally, the Hogwarts Express stopped, and the Marauders stepped off with their luggage. "Hey, Hagrid," Sirius called to the half-giant gamekeeper of Hogwarts.

Hagrid turned towards them from where he stood in a sea of first years and waved. "Oy, yeh came back, eh?" he shouted.

"You're not through with us yet!" replied Sirius. The Marauders and Hagrid had been friends since second year, when James and Sirius had hexed Mathias Avery for making fun of Hagrid's size.

"Get on ter th' castle!" Hagrid yelled at them as he gathered the first years around him for the boat ride across the lake.

"Watch out for the giant squid!" James warned the first years, and laughed when he saw that they looked more than a little frightened. He turned and headed to the horseless carriages with the rest of the Marauders. "Were we that small when we were first years?" he wondered aloud to Sirius.

"Hey, Wormtail's still that small," Sirius joked. "I can use him as an armrest." To prove his point, he set his elbow on Peter's head and leaned his weight on him.

Peter shoved Sirius away, but it didn't do much. Sirius was the tallest of them, at well beyond six feet, and pretty well-built. "Shut it, Padfoot!" he squeaked indignantly.

Sirius laughed at their short companion. "Calm down," he said as they reached the horseless carriage. Sirius easily tossed his things into the carriage and turned to Peter. "You need help with that, sir?" he asked, still grinning.

Peter scowled at him and said, _"Wingardium Leviosa."_ His luggage floated into the carriage after harshly bumping Sirius, and he jumped in after it.

With a flick of his wand, Remus imitated Peter, while James showed off like Sirius had. He smiled as a few giggling sixth-year girls passed him, and then leapt into the carriage, taking a seat next to Sirius. As the carriage started off towards the castle, James said, "Hey, Padfoot, I saw one of your cousins' gang – Alecto Carrow. She's a Slytherin prefect."

"Any friend of Narcissa or Bellatrix is an enemy of mine," Sirius replied.

"Merlin forbid either of them to reproduce," Peter remarked.

"Oh, I dunno," said Sirius. "I'm willing to take a chance that Bella gets stuck with a deviant Gryffindor child like me. I can see the headline now: 'Lestrange Child Sorted Gryffindor, Mother Takes Own Life'."

" 'Wizarding World Celebrates'," finished James.

"Carrow still after you, Prongs?" Peter asked.

"Of course," said James haughtily. "All the girls are after me."

"'Cept for Evans," Sirius chuckled.

James frowned. "She'll come around," he said.

"She hasn't for six years," Sirius pointed out. He merely grinned as James glared at him. Sirius had never been affected by James's angry looks, as many others had been. "Anyway, did anyone else notice that Angelique Lamb has grown up over the summer? She's got all those curves now..."

"I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear you're interested, Padfoot," said James with a roll of his eyes.

"Yep," agreed Sirius. "What can I say? The ladies just can't keep themselves away from _this_ Marauder." He smirked at James. "I would include you in the club, Prongs, but it seems that there is at least one girl that would prefer to keep a good distance between you two."

"I told you, she'll come around," James insisted, but even he wasn't so sure.

They finally reached Hogwarts and left their things in the horseless carriages for the house-elves to take to the dormitories. Thinking of the dormitories again made James smile – Lily had the effect on him.

The Marauders entered the Great Hall and found their usual seats. James scanned the crowd for Lily, and when she came in, their eyes met briefly. He smiled at her and gestured to an empty chair next to him, but she frowned and took one as far away as possible. She sat with her two other friends from Gryffindor – Selena Silver and Colleen O'Brian.

The Sorting Hat sang its song and placed the first years in their houses. The Marauders cheered for any that landed in Gryffindor, and booed the ones in Slytherin, as was their custom. Snape glared darkly at them from across the Great Hall, and James and Sirius returned the favor.

Finally, Dumbledore stood. James loved the old headmaster, but the smile died on his face at the sight of him. Dumbledore looked exhausted. The wrinkles on his face stood out and his hair seemed to have grown whiter. All in all, he looked haggard. James listened in concern as Dumbledore said, "Well, we've all returned one year older and what I'm sure seems like several years hungrier. There's a time for speeches, but this isn't it. Please, dig in!"

As the students laughed appreciatively as plates of food appeared before them. Sirius immediately piled as much as he could onto his plate and began shoveling it into his mouth. The first years sitting near him stopped eating to watch him. One girl's spoon had stopped midway to her mouth, and she didn't seem to notice that the soup that had been in it had spilled onto her lap.

James, Remus, and Peter, however, took no notice of their friend's eating habits, and merely ate normally, exchanging conversation.

"Did anyone else notice Dumbledore? He doesn't look so good," James said to Remus and Peter, as Sirius was too busy stuffing his face.

Remus and Peter nodded. "He looked like Remus does near... well, you know," said Peter, making sure not to hint about Remus's "furry little problem"; that was the one thing that the Marauders made sure never got out to the student body. "No offense, Moony," Peter said quickly.

"None taken, I completely agree," Remus answered. "But you have to remember, Prongs; Dumbledore has a lot on his mind right now, what with You-Know-Who and all."

"Yeah, I know," sighed James. "I worry about the old guy, though."

"Wha'?" Sirius asked through a rather large mouthful. "Wha' ah 'oo 'alking abou'?"

"Nice of you to surface, Padfoot," Peter said wryly.

"Dumbledore," answered James, used to Sirius's my-mouth-is-full-but-I'll-participate-in-conversation-anyway language. "He looked pretty bad, huh?"

Sirius nodded and swallowed his mouthful. "Yeah, but... well, the guy's old, Prongs," he said. "And he's got all this Voldemort crap to worry about, so it's gotta be taking its toll on him."

"You're right," said James with a sigh and a halfhearted poke at his food. "I probably shouldn't worry about him that much. He's probably got it under control."

"Yep," agreed Sirius. "Just focus on Evans, right?" Then he stuffed some more food in his mouth.

James tried to push Dumbledore's appearance from his mind and glanced down the table to where Lily sat, laughing with Selena and Colleen. _What is it about me that she hates so much? _he wondered.

"I doubt you'll have to worry about Prongs's focus, Padfoot," squeaked Peter, casting a knowing look on his friend.

"'Oo ah 'ight," agreed Sirius.

When it seemed as though the students were done eating and had started talking, Dumbledore stood again. Silence immediately fell on the Great Hall. "A few announcements before I let you go," said the headmaster. "The Forbidden Forest is still off-limits, despite popular belief." His gaze seemed to find the Marauders, who put on their most innocent expressions. "Also, I should announce the new Head Students. Your Head Boy is James Potter, and your Head Girl is Lily Evans, both are from Gryffindor." Loud applause burst from the Gryffindor table, and some from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. Slytherin was silent. "Now that's done, you may go to your towers, except for the Heads. Please come up to me."

Before going to Dumbledore, James instructed Jake Bell and Annette Goldwyn, two Gryffindor prefects, to direct the first years to the Tower. Then he joined Lily in front of the headmaster.

"Yes, Professor?" he asked.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore with a smile. "Now that you're here, I can explain to you your duties as Heads..."

"Please do, Professor," said Lily. "I don't think Potter is clear on them." She glared at James.

"Very well, Ms. Evans," said Dumbledore. "As Head Students, you have your own Tower, complete with a common room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. You may also visit Gryffindor Tower, if you wish. The password is _Unicorn tears_… I'm afraid the Fat Lady was quite upset when she made it. The entrance to the Head Tower is behind the griffin statue, and the password is _Wizard's Chess_. As for the actual duties, they are basically the same as a prefect's, except that you need not get a teacher's permission to give detentions, as it is assumed that you won't abuse your rights. After all, you were chosen out of all the seventh year students as the best-behaved."

"Speaking of that, Professor, why did you pick me?" asked James. Beside him, Lily seemed for the first time to agree that this was an appropriate question. "I could have sworn you would choose Remus or Davies or even Snape."

"Ah, yes," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "Mr. Lupin did cross my mind when I was choosing the Head Students. But you'll see that there's a reason I chose you, Mr. Potter, and I think you will thank me. Even you, Ms. Evans."

Lily looked as if she couldn't fathom thanking Dumbledore for making her share a Tower with James, but didn't dare contradict the headmaster.

"If you need help finding the Head Tower, Filch can assist you," said Dumbledore. James looked past the headmaster to find Filch, the caretaker, scowling at James and Lily.

"That's okay, Professor Dumbledore," said James. "Evans and I can find it just fine."

Lily nodded, obviously not wanting the assistance of the grim-looking Filch, either.

"Well, in that case, why don't you go on up to your Tower and get used to it?" suggested Dumbledore. Then the headmaster yawned widely. "I'm certainly going to bed. It's been a long day... Goodnight." And with that, he strode away from James and Lily.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Wow, I've written so much of this, so quickly. Four chapters in three days... That's a lot, at least for me. But I like this story a lot, and I hope you do, too! Um... replies to reviews... yeah... Okay. **Wicca Chick**: I know, you're right. I reread that part of OotP after I posted that chapter. But I figured that it was okay because then Sirius says he got his own place from his uncle when he was seventeen, so he's seventeen in this. **Graham-Craker-Gal**: I know, I wish Peter was nonexistent as well, but, as **Gypsy Lupin-Black** pointed out, he was just as much a Marauder as the others when they were at Hogwarts. Personally, I think he's evil. He's in there just so I can stay accurate with the books. Next chapter: James and Lily go to the Head Tower, and participate in a one-sided pillow fight! Review please!!

_7-31-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before. No new non-canon information in this chapter, I don't think, and in regards to my earlier response to Wicca Chick's review, one has to be seventeen before entering their seventh year, so Sirius's living at his uncle Alphard's place is in-canon, in spite of someone named Janet Beavers' insistence otherwise._


	5. Screaming Bloody Murder

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Um, let's see. Contrary to popular belief, I don't own Harry Potter. I _do_ own Selena Silver and Colleen O'Brian, Lily's friends, though. Oh, and I own the griffin statue outside the Head Tower! You can see I'm scrambling for things that I actually own... Not coming up with many, am I?

Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Five: Screaming Bloody Murder**

James and Lily walked in silence to the Head Tower – or rather, Lily walked in silence while James tried to flirt with her. None of his attempts worked, however, as she completely ignored him, although James was nearly certain he'd caught the ghost of a smile after he'd complimented her on her "Charms".

Finally, they reached the griffin statue Dumbledore had told them about. The griffin, as they had learned in Care of Magical Creatures, was a huge lion with the head, wings, and talons of an eagle. This statue looked exactly like the one they had seen in a book, sitting regally with its wings outstretched above its head, nearly touching the ceiling of the hallway.

"Wizard's Chess," James said to the apparent guardian of the Head Tower. After a moment in which James felt very silly talking to a statue, the griffin's wings began to fold slowly. The excruciating sound of rock sliding on rock sliced through the air of the corridor, and James and Lily clamped their hands over their ears.

"Lovely sound, innit?" he shouted to her. "Who needs a guard dog when a burglar'll wake everyone from here to China?"

Lily only looked at him in unfortunate agreement, her hands still on her ears.

Finally, as the griffin's wings completely folded, they revealed two doorways on either side of the statue's body. After looking bemusedly at each other, they each took one, but found themselves in the same place – the Head common room.

The common room was much more elegant than the one in Gryffindor Tower, but that was to be expected. It was colored red and gold, the Gryffindor House colors, for James and Lily. There were two squishy armchairs and one couch in a horseshoe around the fireplace, and three doors on the opposite wall from the entrance. One door read, _James Potter,_ in bold, solid letters – the same handwriting James himself had, in fact

_Odd, don't remember writing my name on a door,_ James thought to himself. _Well, at least not __that__ door_.

Moving his gaze onward, he found that the other door said, _Lily Evans_, and James recognized the writing as hers. He went to the last door, this one unlabeled, and opened it, revealing a spotlessly clean bathroom, complete with a toilet, two sinks, a shower, and a separate bath.

"It's gorgeous," Lily breathed, coming up behind him.

"Meh, I've seen better," James lied. When Lily looked at him with a raised eyebrow, he met her gaze for a moment before laughing. "Just kidding. This really is something."

Lily turned back to the common room, and James closed the bathroom door again and went to sit on the couch. Lily had already taken one of the comfortable-looking armchairs.

"This is pretty nice," James commented, taking another look around. "Better than Gryffindor Tower, even."

Lily nodded hesitantly, as if she were realizing this was the third time that she and James had agreed within only a few minutes' time.

"Yep," he continued. "The only problem is that the Owlery and Great Hall are so far away. We'll have to get up early just to get there in time for breakfast."

Lily still said nothing.

"Can't you answer with words like a normal person?" James mimicked, repeating what she had said on the train.

She glared at him. "Well, I'm sorry," she said, though she didn't sound sorry at all. "But I suppose I'm in shock because I have to share this lovely tower with you, of all people. I still can hardly believe it. And Professor Dumbledore wouldn't even give us a reason for appointing you Head Boy."

James nodded thoughtfully, and then said, "Why don't you go out with me? I might stop being such a jerk."

"Well, I'm sorry, Potter, but I'm not quite ready to have a fixer-upper for a first boyfriend."

"First boyfriend, huh?" he repeated thoughtfully. "Intriguing."

Lily rolled her eyes. "If all you're going to do is wonder about my dating record, I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Potter."

"Sweet dreams," James called with a big grin and a waggling eyebrow.

"_Goodnight, Potter,_" Lily said forcefully, shutting her door with a quiet but firm slam.

After a few minutes, James also got up and went to his room. He immediately rummaged through his stuff, and came up with a small, square mirror – so innocuous that it looked like one a girl might keep in her purse.

"Sirius Black," James said to it, and in a moment, James's reflection morphed into Sirius's face.

"Hey, Prongs," greeted Sirius. "It's about time."

"It's nice to see you, too, Sirius," James said wryly.

"So, how's the Head Tower?" Sirius asked.

James shrugged. "Pretty nice, I guess," he said. "Bathroom's a lot nicer than in Gryffindor Tower, gotta tell ya. Evans is still pretty uptight, you know. She got mad at me for just being here."

"Oh, poor Prongs," Sirius said unsympathetically. "Why don't you just hex her until she admits her love for you? That might work – at least as well as your current strategy."

"It's lucky you're in that mirror, Padfoot," James told him. "But fortunately I think I'm wearing her down. She actually agreed with me somewhat tonight."

"Ooh, saucy."

"Not everything can be the same bowl of linguini that was Black's Birthday Bash 1975."

Sirius tried to grin but a yawn cut through it. "Sorry," he said. "I'm _so _tired. I'm gonna turn in. See ya tomorrow."

"G'night, Padfoot," said James, and then it was his reflection in the mirror again. James put it carefully away and then undressed. He pulled on his pyjamas and slid under the red-and-gold covers on his four-poster bed. The mattress was amazingly comfortable, and James immediately fell asleep.

He was walking down a familiar corridor, the one that led to the Shrieking Shack. He was looking for someone – who, he didn't know. But he heard that person climbing the slope up into the Shack, and he quickened his pace.

Finally he reached the Shack, but the person he was following was nowhere to be seen. There was a creak from the door to the right, the one that led to the staircase, and he turned toward the sound. He rushed up the staircase, turning into Prongs as he went. He finally leapt onto the second floor landing, and he saw Remus, as a werewolf, advancing on the person he had been following. He jumped at Remus just as the person screamed –

"_No! Not me, too!!!"_

James jolted awake, breathing hard. He was sweating, but it was just a dream. _Just a dream,_ he told himself. "But then why was that scream so – ?"

"_No, not Mum! Please, no!!"_

James's head jerked up. The screams were real. Someone was in the Head Tower, screaming like a banshee. "It's probably just Peeves," James said to himself, but he was extremely unconvincing, so he got out of bed anyway.

"_Stay away from me!!"_

He approached the door to the bathroom and turned the knob. He peeked his head inside, but there was no one there. James frowned. He could have sworn the screams were coming from –

"_AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"_

There it came again, even shriller than before, and it was still coming from beyond the bathroom. "But where?" James muttered. Then he saw the door opposite him. _It must lead to Evans's room,_ he thought. _She's the one screaming?_

He crossed the cold tile in a few strides and opened the door just as a fresh cry sounded, only this time it was pleading.

"_No, no, not Dad, not Petunia,"_ sobbed Lily, tears streaming out of her closed eyes as she lay in bed.

James immediately went to the side of her bed and saw that Lily had obviously been having a nightmare. Her face was streaked with wet trails of tears, and she was murmuring and shivering in a cold sweat.

"_N-No,"_ she stammered. _"No – no – !"_

James grabbed her by the shoulders before she could scream again. "Wake up, Evans! It's just a nightmare!" he shouted.

Lily's green eyes snapped open and met James's. "Potter?"

"Yeah?" asked James, happy to see her return to reality.

"P-Potter…" She seemed disoriented, but then her face turned livid. "Just _WHAT_ are you doing in my room?!" she shrieked.

"It's not what you think!" James defended himself. "Y-You were having a nightmare. I woke you up!"

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM, YOU PERV!" she shouted, whacking James straight in the face with her pillow. It fell to the ground, and James promptly tripped on it.

"W-Whoa!" James exclaimed, backpedaling with his arms to keep his balance. It was no use – he flopped onto the floor, right on Lily's suitcase. The handle dug sharply into the small of his back. "OW!" he shouted, sitting up just as Lily's pillow met his face for a second time.

"GET OUT!!!" she yelled. "GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!"

"I am _trying_," James insisted, leaping up from the floor and covering his head with his arms. He made a dash for the bathroom door, and Lily hurled the pillow at him again. He closed the door just in time, and he heard a _whump!_ when the pillow hit.

"AND STAY OUT!" Lily shouted after him.

He made it back into his room and sank onto his bed in relief. "That girl is dangerous," he muttered. He rubbed his face. "And a dynamite shot with a pillow."

- - - - -

James woke up with a definite backache, the origin of which it took him more than a moment to remember. Then it all came back to him – his dream, Evans's screaming, Evans's waking up and finding him in her room, and Evans's being a maniac.

He groaned as he got up from his bed. He knocked on the bathroom door just to make sure Lily wasn't in there; he'd already seen what she was like when he was in her room – he shuddered at the thought of walking in on her in the bathroom. Nobody answered, so he walked in. He noticed that the mirror was a little fogged up, so Lily must have already taken her shower. After taking off his pyjamas, he turned on the hot water and hopped in.

After about five minutes he finished and pulled on his regular school robes. He walked out into the common room and still didn't see Lily anywhere. However, he found a piece of paper on the coffee table in front of the fireplace. Hoping against hope that it was a note of apology for all her hysterics and misunderstanding the previous night, he rushed over, but found that it was just his schedule. He looked it over, and found that he had History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration that day. As he was no longer required to take Potions, he had a pretty easy schedule.

James made his way to the Great Hall, which was a long descent from the Head Tower. When he got there, he found the other Marauders immediately – the raucous laughter and wide berth made by the younger years was an easy giveaway – took a seat next to Sirius, and began piling food onto his plate.

"Good morning, James," greeted Remus. Sirius would have done so, but, as usual, his mouth was full of pancakes, waffles, and whatever else he could fit.

"G'morning, Moony," said James.

"You look terrible," said Peter, sparing no pretense. "Did you get enough sleep last night?"

Sirius swallowed an impossibly large bite and said, "Oh-ho! No sleep, eh, Prongsy? Things are going well with Evans, then!" He slapped James on the back.

James arched away from Sirius's hand and grimaced in pain. "_Owww_," he gasped.

Sirius looked surprised. "What's wrong?" he asked, before opening his mouth in a silent "O" of understanding. "Ah, I see. She likes it rough, huh?"

Remus and Peter grimaced.

"Bad taste, Padfoot," said Remus, shaking his head.

"Literally," Peter added, pushing his plate away from him and pretending to throw up.

"I _was_ up because of Evans, but it's not what you think, Padfoot," said James. "She was – _loudly _– having a nightmare and woke me up. When I went into her room to wake her up, she yelled at me. I tripped and landed on her luggage, right where you hit me." He tenderly gestured to the spot.

Sirius's eyebrows were raised. "Wow," he said. "Not one of your graceful moments, eh?"

"Definitely not," agreed James, still smarting from the clap on the back.

"What classes do you have, James?" asked Remus, to change the subject.

"History of Magic, then D.A.D.A., a free period, and then Transfigs," he said. "You have the same?" The Marauders took pretty much the same classes – only Remus and Peter still took Potions, and Remus had Ancient Runes.

"Same for me," said Remus, "only Wormtail and I have Potions when you have the free period."

"What about you, Padfoot?" asked James.

Sirius handed him his schedule, as his mouth was full again.

"Just the same, too," said James. "Brilliant."

Sirius nodded, unable to speak around the spectacular amount of food stuffed in his mouth.

"What class do we have History of Magic with?" James wondered, taking a look at his schedule. "Ravenclaw, okay. Not Slytherin."

"Thank God," Sirius muttered before cramming some more food into his mouth.

James stared at him. "How many stomachs do you _have_?" he asked.

Sirius shrugged and continued eating – more like vacuuming, actually.

They were soon dismissed from the Great Hall, and all the Gryffindors headed to Professor Binns's classroom for History of Magic. The previous year, Binns had shown up one day as a ghost. When Sirius had pointed it out, Binns had replied, "Well, what do you know? Now will you kindly not interrupt my class again, Mr. Black?" and had continued with the lesson.

As the Marauders approached the classroom, James caught sight of three figures in the hallway. Unfortunately, he recognized two of them as the ever-cruel Mathias Avery and his fellow Slytherin, below-average-intelligence Edmond Jugson. He and Sirius simultaneously reached for their wands, and then James saw that the third person was none other than Lily Evans.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest**: Well, there's the end of chapter five. Wow. I've written these so fast... I'm so proud!!! Chapter six will be out soon, don't worry! Probably more about Lily and such, you know. The good stuff. Maybe Quidditch practice. I think James will try to get information out of Colleen (you know, Lily's Chaser friend). James is a sneaky young man. By the way, does anyone know for sure what position James played? I could have sworn he was Seeker, but recently I've been hearing that he was Chaser, and I can't find out for myself because I lost my copy of the first book. Could someone leave the information in a review, please? Even though it would upset me because I've already written a Quidditch chapter in which James is the Seeker... But tell me anyway.

_8-01-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before. Several people are pointing out the non-canon parts later on. I must stress that if a chapter DOESN'T HAVE an italicized note, it has not been changed to fit full canon. _


	6. Definitely Not Stalking

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it. Must you keep checking? Honestly... I really wish these things weren't necessary... -- Um... Lemme try and scrape together a few things that belong to me!! Let's see... The statue of the griffin! No, wait, I said that in the last one... Uh, I own probably everyone on the Quidditch team, except James. Yep. Go me.

Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Six: Definitely Not Stalking**

"So Muggle-loving Dumbledore made a Mudblood Head Girl," Avery was sneering at Lily. He and Jugson had effectively cornered her, and Lily, though standing tall, seemed to be doing her best not to cower.

"How much did you have to pay him?" sniggered Jugson, who apparently had caught wind of Carrow's earlier jab at the Evanses' financial state. "Bet your family is broke now."

"Let her alone, you lot," James growled, as he and the other Marauders rushed over, "or I'll kick your arses so hard you'll be inside-out."

The two Slytherins turned to face their attackers.

"Big talk, _Potter_," spat Avery, whose distaste for the Marauders, like Hagrid's affection for them, dated back to a certain moment in their second year. "You gonna punish us? You're a big Head Boy now, aren't you?"

"Thanks for reminding me, Avery," said James with a look of mock gratitude. "Twenty points from Slytherin for bullying and name-calling."

"You don't need to protect me, Potter – " Lily began, but James's attention was fixed upon Avery, who seemed amused by his punishment.

"Ha, House points," scoffed Avery. He elbowed Jugson, who was still menacing Lily with his sizeable bulk. "_We_ don't answer to such children's matters anymore."

"Yeah," Jugson snickered, "only person who outranks us here is – "

"Speaking of me, Edmond?" an oily voice emerged from the corridor. James turned to see the all-too-familiar face of Severus Snape, his black robes swirling about his legs.

"Ah, Snivellus," said Sirius. "Here to back up your minions?"

"Do yourself a favor, Black, and keep your mouth shut," replied Snape, unfazed. "Your unimaginative vocabulary does little to impress."

"Severus," said Avery, addressing the oily young man, "we've only been carrying out your wishes."

"Yeah," agreed Jugson eagerly. "Carrow told us all about how we're supposed to suppress the Mudbl – "

Snape's eyes flared open only briefly when they caught sight of Lily, and James, for a short, uncertain moment, thought that he was actually going to attack Jugson for that unfinished word. However, he merely interrupted smoothly:

"I assure you, I said nothing of the sort to Miss Carrow." James disliked how Snape's eyes fixed themselves inexplicably on Lily, who refused to meet his gaze. Suddenly, the bell rang to indicate the imminent beginning of class. "But I suggest that you come with me to Herbology before you land in more trouble for harassing the Head Girl."

At the mention of her title, Lily's eyes rose to meet Snape's briefly. They were steely and cold, and James watched as Snape's changed to mirror them.

"I certainly don't need _your_ protection, Severus, any more than I need James's," she told him.

But before Jugson could even reach for his wand, Snape had forced the two other Slytherins with him down the staircase in the direction of the greenhouse. Avery scowled at the Gryffindors over his shoulder.

"Well, that went better than expected," Remus remarked, watching their retreating backs with a scowl.

"The world would be a lot better off without those two, not to mention the oiliest bigwig of them all," Sirius grumbled. "Harassing innocent girls because of their bloodlines. They sound like me mum."

"Yeah – " began Peter, before he broke out in green-and-silver spots. His mouth opened, but no sound emerged. His hands found his throat as his mouth worked vainly to make sounds come out.

"Damn Slytherins," muttered James. "Wormtail, you'd better get up to Madam Pomfrey. You think you can make it?"

Peter nodded, clutching at his neck. He left the Marauders to stagger off in the direction of the Infirmary.

After Peter was out of sight, James turned back to Lily, who was holding her books against her chest protectively. James had the distinct impression she was protecting her books rather than herself. "You okay, Evans?" James asked, still frowning from the aftermath of the meeting with the Slytherins.

"I didn't need your help, Potter." She glared at him, holding her books more tightly and standing up to her full height. Still, James could see it was only a halfhearted attempt at saving face.

"Oh, yes, because you were handling that _so_ well," Sirius said with an apprehensive look.

Lily turned her glare on him, and when her eyes weren't on him, James could see the strange glaze of tears. He was so surprised, he nearly took a step back. Lily turned from the Marauders and strode in to Professor Binns's class

When they entered, Professor Binns merely glanced at them before continuing with his lecture. James and Sirius took their seats next to each other, and James watched as Lily looked baffled. Her friends Selena and Colleen were already next to each other, so she had no place to sit. Remus, like the gentleman he was, gestured to the empty seat next to him that Peter normally occupied. Lily took it gratefully.

"If it had been me," muttered James, turning back to face the front, "she wouldn't have taken the seat. She probably would have sat on the floor."

"What?" asked Sirius, confused. "Who?"

"Evans," said James. "She's sitting next to Moony."

Sirius looked confused. "Maybe you should be happy, Prongs," he said. "I mean, better Moony than, I don't know, Davies." He motioned to the handsome Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain.

"I guess..." But James still frowned. He wasn't jealous – James Potter didn't _get_ jealous – but he was confused. Why did Lily like Remus better than him? They were best friends, fellow Marauders. But then why...? He stole a glance at Lily and Remus, and found that she was actually faintly _smiling_. James couldn't remember ever seeing her smile in _his_ presence.

"Hey, Binns is glaring at you," whispered Sirius, and James turned around. The ghost teacher was, indeed, staring quite pointedly at him. James smiled cheekily back and pretended to be listening.

- - - - -

Professor Ares was that year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and, they soon discovered, she was a relatively good one. Her only fault – which they unfortunately also soon discovered – was that her temper was too quick and harsh and often brought down on the Marauders.

James took his designated seat – it had been his since first year, and the Defense seating chart, unlike the teachers, had been permanent. He sat next to Lily, and he couldn't have been more pleased. Sirius, however, was stuck next to Snape. Remus was by some Slytherin girl, and Peter was normally next to Selena, Lily's friend. Peter's seat was empty, though, as he was still in the Infirmary, getting the spots removed.

"Open your books to chapter one and begin taking notes. We'll be testing on this next week," said Ares. When she said "testing," she had explained, she meant they would be up against whatever creature it was they were studying.

James got out a piece of paper and a pen, but it was never his intention to take notes. Instead, he scribbled a quick note to Lily, and passed it to her.

**You get enough sleep? You look tired**

Lily read it quickly, and then replied.

_No, unfortunately a voyeuristic stalker interrupted my sleep last night. It was quite hard to relax after waking to the feeling of unknown hands ravaging my defenseless body._

**Grabbing your shoulders to wake you from a nightmare hardly qualifies as "ravaging".**

_Oh, "grabbing my shoulders." Is that the official party line?_

**Yes, it is. I expect a nomination for Best Dream Rescuer any day now. What were you dreaming about last night, anyway?**

_Nothing you should concern yourself about. Now leave me be. Notes are stupid. I'm done now. _

James tried to continue the conversation, but Lily just erased the writing and used the paper to continue her notes. James frowned slightly, but took out a new piece of paper and began to follow the professor's instructions.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor." James looked up. It was Peter, spotless but out of breath. He heard Avery snigger from where he was next to Colleen O'Brian, and Peter flushed a little.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Pettigrew. And just _why_ were you late?" inquired Ares impatiently.

"I was in the Infirmary," said Peter reluctantly, unwilling to reveal any more information.

Ares sighed, acknowledging it as a legitimate excuse. "Fine. Take your seat beside Ms. Silver and she will explain to you what we are doing."

Peter gratefully sat down beside Selena, who whispered instructions to him. James turned back to the textbook and continued reading.

- - - - -

During the free period, James sent out notes to the players on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team to meet him for practice at six, and then he and Sirius went for a walk around the grounds. They found their beech tree on the edge of the lake and sat under it.

"So, Prongs," said Sirius, leaning against the trunk of the tree with his arms behind his head. "You reckon you really like Evans?"

James shrugged. "I dunno," he lied – he noticed that he was doing a lot of lying to his friends about where he stood with Lily. "I s'pose it just bugs me because she hates me. I don't understand it."

"She's not all that fond of me, either," Sirius offered, "if it makes you feel any better."

James chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "Why do you think she likes Moony better, then?"

"Probably 'cause he's quiet, and he likes to read, like her," Sirius told him. "Look, I know less about the girl than you do. If you want to know about her so much, why don't you just ask O'Brian at practice? She's Evans's friend, isn't she?"

"Padfoot, you're a genius!" exclaimed James, jumping up.

"Yeah, I know," Sirius said offhandedly.

After Transfiguration, in which they learned how to transform their pencils into garter snakes, James took his robes and his Nimbus 1000 out of the Head Tower and headed down to the Quidditch pitch.

James's players were already on their brooms. He surveyed the team. Over James's seven years at Hogwarts, he had gotten together the best team Gryffindor house had to offer. His Chasers – Colleen O'Brian, Jake Bell, and Cady Morris – hadn't once fumbled the ball in an honest game. The Beaters – David Gilmore and Lee Butterwick – were so in-tune with the Bludgers it seemed as if they knew where the dangerous balls were going before they even got there. The Keeper – Liz Hamilton – was like a brick wall, never letting a Quaffle get by her. And of course their Seeker and Captain, James himself, was superb.

As James approached, the players came down to meet him. "Okay," he said. "It's the first practice of the season, so let's start out easy, eh? Bell, O'Brian, Morris, you try to get the Quaffle past Hamilton. Gilmore and Butterwick, you beat a Bludger back and forth between you. I'll practice with the Snitch. Don't worry if you're not at the top of your game – I don't expect you to be. In fact, you'll probably be ruddy awful."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Cap'n," Colleen said loudly. The other players laughed.

"Any time, O'Brian," answered James. "Now get up in the air. Let's go! C'mon, people, hustle!"

He undid the case of balls and threw the red Quaffle to Cady Morris. The Bludger he let loose tore off into the sky towards Jake Bell, but Lee Butterwick smacked it away with his Beater stick. James let out the Golden Snitch, and gave it five seconds' head start before kicking off his broom and racing after it.

In an hour and a half, after they were done and thoroughly sweaty, James reckoned it was an appropriate time to approach Colleen. Colleen was plainly Irish, with several freckles, long sandy blond hair that she usually wore in a ponytail, and bright blue eyes. She was short and muscular and the best Chaser on the Gryffindor Team. After sharing classes and a common room with her for six years, James knew Colleen as loud and sometimes outrageous, but she never complained about the grueling practices like a few of the other players did. She was a nice girl, and James liked her.

"Hey, O'Brian," he called. "Can I walk you up to the castle?"

Colleen shrugged. "Sure, Cap'n," she replied, and hefted her Quidditch bag onto her shoulder. She caught up with James and they headed toward the castle. "So, what's up?" she inquired.

"Well, let me get right down to it," said James. "I'm interested in your friend Lily, and – "

"Ah, yes, she told me," said Colleen, nodding. "She doesn't like it that much."

"Yes, I know," he said, frowning slightly. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could help me change that."

She glanced at him. "Cap'n, I'm not sure what the rumor is, but I am not a qualified plastic surgeon."

"Not like _that_," James insisted. "Just tell me about her. You know, her likes, dislikes, favorite color... stuff like that."

Colleen raised her eyebrow at him. "Why don't you just ask Lily yourself?"

"She won't talk to me," said James in frustration. "That's why I need you."

"You know, I think I remember hearing about this." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Yes, that's right. This is one of the first signs that someone's becoming a stalker."

"That's a rather popular description of me lately," James remarked drily.

"Well, sorry, Cap'n, but I won't help you stalk my friend," said Colleen, walking through the archway into the castle corridor.

"Look, I'm definitely _not stalking her,_" James maintained, keeping pace with her. "Just help me out, okay? C'mon, please."

"Oh, yes. _Now_ I'll do it." Colleen stopped and looked at him. "James – Wow, it's weird to use your real name. Don't think I've done that since I joined the team." She paused, and then seemed to shake herself back into the moment. "That's beside the point. James – whoops, almost did it again – as much as I hate to see a grown man desperately milk his crush's friend for information, I don't think I can help you with this one. I'll see you later."

Colleen turned the way that led to Gryffindor Tower, and James, who didn't want to follow her, stood at the fork in the corridor, watching her march away. He was just thinking, _Well, there goes my last hope,_ when Colleen called over her shoulder, "Her favorite flower is a lily!"

"Go figure," James said with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you couldn't figure that out on your own, Cap'n," said Colleen, and then she disappeared into the castle.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest**: I think I'm suffering from inspirational overexertion, if that made any sense, because chapter 6 took longer than the other chapters, and it was shorter than them! Thank you SO MUCH to **Hermione101888, Gypsy Lupin-Black, Marie, mooch, Neko,** and **meLisSa**. Nothing was really resolved about whether James is a Seeker or a Chaser, but I got enough reviews saying that people didn't really care that much whether he was one or the other, so in my story, he's a Seeker. Sorry to **meLisSa** – I know it's cliched, but I already wrote a few chapters where it says he's a Seeker.

I also have a question for you guys. Do you want me to give Sirius or Remus a girlfriend in here? Like Colleen or Selena? I'm not sure whether or not I should. I want Sirius to be able to have a girlfriend, since he's only happy for so long, but (like having James being Seeker) it seems cliched, and I only want to allow a minimal number of cliches in a story. Same for Remus. Please tell me in your review! Bye!

_8-01-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	7. A Healthy Distraction

**Change of Heart**

By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I have a long list of things I DO own! I'm gonna list 'em, 'cause it makes me happy! Okay. I own... Selena Silver, Colleen O'Brian, Jake Bell, Lee Butterwick, Cady Morris, David Gilmore, Liz Hamilton, and Professor Ares! Go me!!! I'm so proud. sniff

Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Seven: A Healthy Distraction  
**

For the next few weeks, James talked to Colleen every practice about Lily. Although Colleen was admittedly still apprehensive about giving James information regarding Lily's general stats, she did so anyway.

"Because, after all, there is something so sweet about this," she explained. "Disturbing, yes, but sweet all the same."

So that night after James emerged, refreshed, from the lockers, he called Colleen's name.

Colleen turned from Cady and Jake and then muttered a quick excuse for going with James and ran to catch up with him. "Yes, O Wonderful Captain?" she said, as if she didn't know what he wanted to talk with her.

"Just thought I'd walk you up there," he said nonchalantly, as always, and pivoted toward the castle, knowing that Colleen would follow him, and she did.

They continued walking to the castle, making small talk, until Colleen leaked the information the way she always did – in the middle of a sentence.

"Yeah and then I saw this really awesome _her favorite candy is Chocolate Frogs_ thing in Zonko's joke shop while I was there, I just had to get it..." She continued with the story without a glitch, as though the information was part of the sentence. The method was completely unnecessary, as no one else was around – and it probably would not have fooled even Edmond Jugson – but crazy ideas seemed to come with the territory around Colleen.

"Why are you going along with me, anyway?" James inquired when they reached the castle corridor where they always parted ways.

She stopped and looked at him. "Let me explain 'walking to the castle'…" she began.

"No, no, no," he said. "I mean why are you doing what I asked? I know you think it's 'sweet', but it's still stalking."

"Glad to see you're calling a spade a spade, Cap'n."

James grimaced at the realization of what he'd just done.

"To be honest, I don't know why I'm helping you," continued Colleen with a one-shouldered shrug. "I guess I feel sorry for you."

James was offended – this girl felt sorry for _him_? _James Potter_? If anything, he should feel sorry for her. As far as he knew, she was a poor half-blood who lived with her Irish Muggle father and four younger siblings. James, as a rich, pureblood, only child with both parents, was much better off than her. And she felt sorry for him?

James said a quick goodbye and strode away from Colleen, confused as to why this comment got to him.

As he was hurrying back to the Head Tower to ask Sirius about it, he crashed right into someone. He immediately stood and helped her up and found that the person was Selena Silver, Lily's other close friend. Selena's complexion was pale, as were her gray eyes. Even her brown hair had a strange, faded look to it, like a shirt that had gone through a washing machine too many times. She was thin, but almost too thin – her cheekbones stood out in her face and her shoulders jutted out like she had a spear across her back. James thought she looked rather sickly and frail, and the heavy black school robes seemed to hang off her body as if she were a coat hanger.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said James, concerned that she might have broken a bone. "Are you okay?"

Selena nodded. "I'm fine, thank you," she whispered, her voice small and quiet.

"You sure? I'm really sorry," James said again.

"Yes, I'm sure," said Selena. "It's no trouble. Go on with your business, sir." She smiled weakly but insistently. As James was hesitantly walking away, however, she stopped him. "Wait," she said. "You're James Potter, aren't you?"

James was surprised she had to ask. Other than the fact that they'd had classes together for six years, he and the other Marauders were celebrities at Hogwarts. "Um, yeah," he said. "Why?"

"I'm Lily's friend," Selena told him with a faint smile. "She's told me some things about you."

"Really? Like what?" James asked eagerly.

"She says that you're a pompous, conceited jerk, and your head is too inflated," she told him. As James was deflating like an old balloon, though, she continued with a smile: "But she thinks if you would just let your ego slip, that maybe – just maybe – she would give you a chance."

James's heart soared. "Really? Wow, thanks, Silver!" James exclaimed. "I could hug you right now!"

"Please contain yourself," said Selena with a faint giggle. "And keep what I said in mind, if you really want to be with her." She turned to leave.

"Hey, can I help you get to where you want to go?" James offered. He didn't want to remark on her apparent frailty, but he wanted to help her if she needed it. "I'm not doing anything right now."

Selena smiled weakly. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine. I have to go to the Infirmary, but maybe I'll see you later, Potter."

"Yeah, see you," said James, still on cloud nine. His confusion at Colleen's remark had disappeared, and he practically floated to the Head Tower.

Lily was sitting in the common room doing Potions homework when James entered. She ignored him when he came and stood over her, watching her quill fly over the paper.

"So, Evans," he began.

"No," she interrupted firmly. "Whatever it is, no."

"Really? Because I was just going to ask you if you still hated me," said James with a grin, sitting down in an armchair. "Thanks, Evans. Why the change of heart?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I would ask you to leave me alone, Potter, but I actually need to speak to you, much as it pains me."

"Where?" James sat forward eagerly. "I could massage it for you."

She gave him a look of the least amusement that James had ever seen on someone's face. "Potter, I'd like to have a civil conversation with you, but you're making it rather difficult," she told him.

"All right, all right," said James. "Converse away."

"While you were out at practice, I met up with some of the prefects to discuss a potential activity for those staying for Christmas to participate in, and we decided that a Christmas dance would be a nice way to bring the Houses together and take everyone's mind off You-Know-Who and life outside of Hogwarts. Just last week two brothers in the forefront of the movement against You-Know-Who, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, were brutally murdered by Death Eaters. It's hard to ignore just how horrible this war is becoming." Lily shook her head sadly. "Anyway, Dumbledore suggested that we think of a healthy distraction that would double as incentive for students to stay at Hogwarts over the break, so… but you've got to agree to it, too." She looked at him expectantly.

"Sounds like a smashing idea," said James. "Far be it from me to disapprove."

"Well, you do have _some_ compassion in you, I suppose," Lily remarked with an appraising glance at James. She turned back to her Potions homework. "Well, we'll have to put a lot of work into this, you know. I've already put together a few ideas with Annette and Angelique, so I'll write them all down and present them to Dumbledore tomorrow."

"If you need anything, you know where to find me," James offered.

"All right." Although it didn't sound as though she would take him up on that offer.

They sat in silence for a few moments, James trying to think of something to say that would prove to Lily that his head was "deflating", just as Selena Silver had suggested he do. Finally he said:

"Lily, you're right."

"I'm right?" Lily repeated, looking up from her homework.

"I mean, you're right about me," he clarified. "That I'm, er, pompous and conceited, if that's what you said."

She blinked at him. "When did I ever say that to you?"

"Well, not to _me_," James conceded, "but to Silver."

"Selena? When did you talk to her?"

James shrugged. "I ran into her in the hallway outside. She looked pretty sick, but she was going off to the Infirmary, so I suppose she'll be getting the help she needs, right? However much that may be."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "You leave Selena alone," she growled warningly. "She has far more problems than you could imagine, Potter."

James was surprised at Lily's anger and intrigued by her words, but he didn't want to undo all the good work he'd just done. "Sorry," he said quickly.

She stared at him for a few short moments, apparently trying to judge the sincerity of his apology, before turning back to her homework, leaving James in a thoughtful silence that this time remained unbroken.

- - - - -

"Moony?" said James at dinner the next day.

Remus looked up from his untouched food. It was only a few days after the full moon, and his appetite always took a blow near to his transformation. "Yes?" he asked, his milky eyes rather milkier than usual.

"I need some lessons in humility," said James.

Sirius cracked up beside him. "Lessons in _humility_?" he repeated incredulously through his guffaws. "Oh, man. I _need_ to see this."

"Say it, don't spray it, Padfoot," muttered Peter, wiping some steak-and-kidney pie off his face.

"Please?" James continued, ignoring Sirius. "You have to help me, Moony."

Remus was about to reply when Dumbledore stood up at the teachers' table. A blanket of silence fell over the Great Hall. Dumbledore spoke in his normal voice, but it carried throughout the hall, resonating on the stone walls. "I'm pleased to announce that, through the good graces of our prefects, we will be holding a Christmas Dance this year."

Cheers rang out through the Great Hall.

Dumbledore held up his hand for silence and continued: "Years four and up are allowed to participate. It will be on Christmas Day and will begin at seven-thirty at night. Please be there on time – and don't do anything that might force you to miss it." He looked straight at the Marauders, this time.

As soon as Dumbledore sat again, the Great Hall was abuzz with excitement. Even the Marauders could barely mask theirs with their usual calm.

"What'd he mean by that, Prongs?" asked Peter. "'The good graces of our prefects'?"

"Yeah, Lily told me about it last night," said James. "Must have slipped my mind."

"Yes, your mind is rather slippery these days," Peter replied with a head-jerk in Lily Evans's direction.

"So," said Remus, before James could reply, "any of you got a girl you want to take in mind?"

Sirius shrugged. "Doesn't matter. They'll be swarming all over me by the time dinner's through."

"What about you, Moony?" asked James. "Wormtail?"

Remus and Peter both shook their heads. "But we all know who you want, Prongs," said Sirius. "Better pounce on her right after dinner."

"James Potter doesn't need to 'pounce'," said James indignantly. "Besides that, we're Head Students. It's expected of us to go together."

"I think that's one expectation Evans might ignore," said Sirius.

- - - - -

That night, James was awakened once again by Lily's nightmarish screams. This time, though, he didn't dare run in to stop her and risk her wrath. He just lay on his back in bed, staring at the ceiling, flinching every time she let out another cry.

Finally, he admitted that he would never be able to get to sleep while Lily was going on like that and got up out of his bed. He took his Invisibility Cloak out of the drawer it was kept in and threw it about his shoulders. He checked in the mirror to see – or rather, not see – if it was covering him. Then he opened the door to the bathroom, crossed that room, and entered Lily's.

She was tossing around on her bed, letting out loud whimpers and the occasional shriek. James leaned over her bed, and reached out his hand and shook her awake.

Lily bolted straight up in bed, looking around for whoever it was who had touched her. James backed away silently to make sure she wouldn't reach out and touch him.

Then she sighed and relaxed. "Just a dream," she murmured. "Why do I keep having that dream? I don't want to see it anymore..." She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. She lay back down on her bed and turned on her side.

James waited for a good half hour before her breathing turned deep and regular, and then he cautiously went back into his room, being sure not to make a sound. He came out from the Invisibility Cloak, put it away, and then climbed into bed. Within moments, he was asleep.

He woke up, however, earlier than usual. When he emerged from his room, Lily was still in the shower, so he had to wait for her to finish, which took quite a while. When the sound of running water ceased, and he heard the door to her room shut, he quickly took his own shower and headed down for breakfast.

As he stepped into the common room, though, Lily was still there, staring at the fireplace, although there was no fire.

"Um, good morning, Evans," James greeted. "Sleep well?"

After a moment, Lily shook her head absently. She seemed lost in thought and unwilling to answer James with her full attention.

James cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, I'm heading down to breakfast, would you like to come with me?" he asked.

Once again, it took a while before Lily responded. This time she turned to James, her green eyes vapid. "No, thanks," she said as if in a trance. "I think I'll stay up here a bit longer."

"Er, okay," said James, not used to Lily's acting this way. He almost preferred it when she was telling him to get away from her. Just as he was about to exit, he turned back and asked, "You okay?"

She was back to staring at the fireplace, but she nodded slowly as an answer. James frowned, but, against his better judgment, left her alone in the common room.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest**: There. I wrote something where James wasn't completely himself. Have you ever been in one of those sorta trance-like things where you just stare at something without really seeing it, and it takes you a while to process what people say? I do that all the time... Usually when I'm thinking really, really hard.

As for whether or not Sirius or Remus get girlfriends, mostly people said that Sirius should have one, but not Remus. Some people wanted it to be Colleen and some wanted it to be some other original character that wasn't Lily's friend. All I can say is that Colleen and Sirius will definitely be friends, but even I'm not sure whether they'll be together or not. Next chapter is the Quidditch match. **Gypsy Lupin-Black:** Sirius isn't on the team (as you probably surmised), but he DOES have a special role to play during the games... Anyway, review please!

_8-01-07: This chapter has been revamped! I hope you enjoy it more than before._


	8. Quidditch, Anyone?

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Um, no, I don't own Harry Potter :'( It's so sad... Anyway, I do own the plot, and most of the people on the Quidditch teams. Yeah. I think that's about it. Quite sad, isn't it?

Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Eight: Quidditch, Anyone?**

As the early November sun dawned on the day of the first Quidditch match of the season, James was already up and about, showered and dressed in his Quidditch robes. He contacted the others on the Gryffindor team to get them down to the Quidditch pitch early – he wanted to give them a pep talk and maybe get some light practice in before the game against Slytherin.

So directly after breakfast, the six other players entered the locker rooms where James was already waiting for them. Among the few things in the world that James took seriously was Quidditch, especially when they were against Slytherin.

"All right, team," he began. "This is the first match of the season, but it doesn't mean that we can go easy. We want to tear those Slytherins apart. We're gonna win the Quidditch Cup this year!"

The Gryffindors cheered.

"While you're out there, I want you to remember: this isn't just a Qudditch match," he continued. "Oh, no. Not with Slytherin. This is a battle between right and wrong, good and – "

Colleen shouted: "Let's get out there and practice, Cap'n. We could all recite your pep talks by heart."

James grinned, pleased that his team was eager to get out onto the pitch. "Don't strain yourselves," he warned. "This is just a light practice."

"Yeah, yeah," said Lee Butterwick, waving James away as he passed on his way out the door. "We'll be fine."

"Fine, then get out there!" James ordered, shooing them away. He took off on his Nimbus 1000 and practiced with the Chasers for a while. After a few minutes, he flew up high above the team and surveyed them.

Cady hurled the Quaffle to Jake, who banked a quick U-turn as if a Slytherin were on his broom tail. Then he whirled around and threw it to Colleen, who zoomed forward to catch it and then chucked the Quaffle at the hoops. It had nearly reached the hoop when Liz surged forward and caught it at the last second. She smiled at Colleen and offered a joke before throwing the Quaffle back in to her, as Lee smacked a Bludger straight at her. Before it could even get close, David was on it, beating it back with his bat.

"Hey, Cap'n!" shouted Colleen, holding the Quaffle under her arm and shading her eyes against the sun. "You gonna practice or what?"

James smiled and dove back down to his team. He intercepted the Quaffle in a pass from Colleen to Cady and tore towards Liz. At the last moment, he passed it to Jake, who threw it neatly through the hoop.

"Why, you little..." began Liz, but she was laughing as she tossed the Quaffle back to Jake.

"Don't make the same mistake at the game today, Hamilton," James warned.

"Oh, like Avery, Stoker, and Brinkman are smart enough to pull a move like that," she scoffed. "Their ploy is to play target practice with me rather than score – haven't you noticed that they always throw it_ directly at me_?"

"Just don't get off your guard," he insisted, whatever the status of the Slytherin Chasers' aim.

When they finished in about twenty minutes, the Gryffindors were all feeling pretty good about their chances at the match. James told them to rest up before the game, which started at eleven, in two hours.

James himself went back to the Head Tower to change into his regular robes and then go find the other Marauders. However, when he entered the common room, he found Lily there, reading one of the books he had given her for her birthday.

James still hadn't asked her to the Christmas Dance – he really saw no need to, and he didn't want to appear desperate to go with her, as the Dance was still almost two months away. So he didn't ask her about the Ball; instead he said: "Hey, Evans."

She looked up from _The Dark Arts Outsmarted_, and her expression hardened upon catching sight of him. "Potter," she acknowledged.

"I see you're reading one of the books I got you," he said, obviously pleased with himself.

"Yes," she admitted reluctantly. "They're good books, even though you got them for me. I'm surprised you had such good judgment in choosing."

James decided to ignore her insult and smiled. "Yeah, it took me a while to find books I thought you didn't already have."

Lily studied him, as if trying to figure out whether he was insulting her for being a bookworm or not. "Why are you wearing those robes, Potter?" she asked, a little disparagingly. "Halloween's over."

"Ha, ha," James said. "These are my Quidditch robes. Haven't you ever been to a Quidditch game, Evans? Your friend O'Brian's on the team, you know."

"Colleen understands that I have better things to do," she replied airily.

"Yeah, I'm sure she does," James said skeptically. "I'll bet you don't even know what position she plays."

"She plays Chaser, thank you very much," said Lily.

"And do you know what a Chaser _does_?" James pressed.

"Yes, I do," she said, a little too firmly. She paused. "They chase, er, probably some sort of spheroid object."

James looked at her pityingly. "Have you even been to a Quidditch game?" he asked.

"Well, no," Lily said.

James gaped at her incredulously. "In all your years at Hogwarts, you've never attended a Quidditch match?" he demanded. "Do you have _any remote idea_ what you're missing?"

"Colleen has explained it to me a little," she told him. "It doesn't sound interesting in the least, watching people speed around on brooms hunting four balls at once. More like confusing, if you ask me."

His mouth was still wide open. "I think I've figured out why you're so angry all the time," he said. "You've never experienced Quidditch."

"Oh really, Potter," said Lily impatiently. "It's not that great."

James nearly laughed at that. "Look, come to today's game – Gryffindor versus Slytherin – and tell me if you're not completely wowed," he said. "Sit with your friend Silver. She's a pureblood – surely she likes Quidditch."

"Selena isn't allowed to attend the Quidditch games," said Lily quietly. "I usually stay with her while they're going on."

"Why the hell not?" James asked. Before Lily could open her mouth to tell him to mind his business, he shook his head. "Don't get after me about it, I won't bother you about Silver. Just come to today's match. Sit with Remus and Peter."

Lily seemed to seriously consider it for a moment.

"Come on, Evans," he nearly pleaded with her. "You've got to see it. It's good, quality fun for the whole family!"

Lily actually smiled at James's comment. "Fine, Potter," she agreed grudgingly. "I'll go to your Quidditch game. Why are you so hell-bent on me going, anyway?"

James was surprised. "You mean you didn't know? I've been the Captain of the Gryffindor House team since fourth year," he told her.

"Oh." Lily blushed a little at not knowing that.

James rolled his eyes. "Really, I expected the Head Girl to be a bit more observant than that."

Lily frowned at him. "Well, what time is this game?" she asked him.

"Eleven," he told her.

"Isn't it a little dark then?" she asked.

"What?" He blinked at her. "Eleven in the morning – as in two hours from now. As if we could see well enough at night!" he said. "You're really clueless about Quidditch, aren't you? You do know where the pitch is?"

Lily nodded.

"Good," said James in relief. "I was afraid I'd have to get Sirius and the others to walk you."

"I may not know Quidditch, but I know my way around Hogwarts," said Lily indignantly.

_Not nearly as well as the Marauders do, though,_ James thought as he left Lily in the common room so he could change.

- - - - -

At ten-forty-five, the Gryffindor Quidditch team was assembled in the locker rooms. Colleen, Jake, and Cady were going over some last-minute strategies, while Liz, Lee, and David lounged around, laughing and joking. James was psyching himself up, as he usually did before a game. There were butterflies in his stomach – they always appeared before a match, and it was a mildly unpleasant feeling, but James felt good about this game – they were all in top form.

Then, at eleven o'clock, Sirius cast the spell on his voice for it to carry through the pitch and asked the crowd: "Is this working? Can you all hear me?"

A great cry rose up from the stands.

"Oh, I guess so," he said, and James could hear the smile in his voice. "Well, it's the first game of the season – Gryffindor versus Slytherin! Here come the teams!"

James turned to his team and said, "Do your best out there!" They smiled back at him, and then he pushed open the door and walked onto the Quidditch pitch, broom in hand.

"And there's Gryffindor, in red and gold! Team Captain and Seeker, James Potter. The Chasers: Jake Bell, Cady Morris, and Colleen O'Brian. The two Beaters: Lee Butterwick and David Gilmore. And the Keeper, Liz Hamilton!"

The Gryffindor audience erupted in applause and cheers for their team, while the Slytherin side booed them.

"Here comes Slytherin, in green and silver! Team Captain and Chaser, Mathias "Slimeball" Avery – "

"Mr. Black," came McGonagall's warning voice, "I don't want to end this before it's begun, but – "

"Sorry, Professor, couldn't resist. So it's Avery followed by the other Chasers, Kade Brinkman and Phelan Stoker. Beaters, Zebulon Montague and Damarcus Edwards. Seeker, Sergio Cameron. And the Keeper, Cory Westlake!"

This time Slytherin cheered while Gryffindor hissed and threw insults down at the Slytherin House Team.

"Madam Hooch steps onto the field," Sirius continued to announce. "Potter and Avery seem to be trying to squeeze the life out of each other's hands... And Madam Hooch has thrown the Quaffle – caught by Jake Bell of Gryffindor!" Gryffindor cheered loudly.

James soared above everyone else, watching for the Golden Snitch. He listened to Sirius with only one ear, tuning him in and out, but he heard: "Magnificent interception by Cady Morris of Gryffindor! She's tearing down the field toward Cory Westlake, the Slytherin Keeper – he looks confused, doesn't know which way she's going – she's right there in front of him – and she passes to Colleen O'Brian, and it's a goal for Gryffindor!! TEN TO ZERO, GRYFFINDOR!"

James caught a flash of gold over by Edwards, a Slytherin Beater, and he streaked after towards it. Cameron saw him do so, and took off after him. But before either could get there, the Snitch had gone elsewhere, and James just barely missed being smacked on the head with Edwards's Beater stick.

"Losing your touch, eh, Potter?" sneered Cameron, a blunt-faced fifth-year with a lazy eye. Several times before when faced with him, James had wondered if it had come in handy on the pitch.

Now, James chose to ignore him. His eyes scanned the Quidditch pitch for the Snitch, and he tuned Sirius back in.

"Kade Brinkman of Slytherin has the Quaffle, and he's heading toward Liz Hamilton, Keeper for Gryffindor. Mathias Avery comes up beside him, and Brinkman passes – and it's intercepted by O'Brian! Look at that girl go! She's getting there – getting there – and – Oh! That was foul!! That dirty, rotten son of a bitch – !"

"Mr. Black!" exclaimed McGonagall, appalled by Sirius's language.

"Sorry, Professor," Sirius apologized. "But that was low-down!"

James looked to see what had happened and gathered that Montague had whacked Colleen on the back of the head with his Beater stick; she was looking rather disoriented. Madam Hooch called a penalty for Gryffindor, and Colleen took it. She shook her dazedness away and shot for the hoop. She made it, and Sirius called out the score. "TWENTY – ZIP, GRYFFINDOR! And it looks like O'Brian is back in the game none the worse for wear! Good show, old girl!"

Colleen aimed a thumbs-up in Sirius's direction and tore off in Avery's wake.

James quickly turned off Sirius's voice in his head, as he saw Cameron diving down towards something on the ground. He quickly went into a steep dive as well, trying to see where the Snitch was. He couldn't see, but Cameron seemed very intent on it. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye James saw a flare of gold on the other side of the field, and he knew Cameron had only been trying to trick him. James quickly pulled out of the dive and veered towards the Golden Snitch. It was hovering by the top of the Gryffindor hoops, and James could hear Sirius again.

"It looks like James Potter of Gryffindor has seen the Snitch! Sergio Cameron was only trying to distract him, but he was caught in his own dive and is taking too long to get out of it! Any other irony fans out there today, folks? Potter's tearing down the field, it looks like he's going to get it – "

As if the Snitch had heard Sirius, it took off away from James, towards the stands, and James zoomed after it. The Snitch found a course over the tops of the audience members' heads, and many of them had to duck as James skimmed over them.

James heard a whirring in the air that didn't sound like the Snitch, but he didn't dare look. He tuned Sirius in for a moment: "Montague has beaten a Bludger Potter's way! Look out, James!!"

"Don't worry, Cap'n," shouted David, zooming straight on at James. "I got it!" Just as it looked as though they were going to collide, David swerved, beat the Bludger away from James, and chased after it.

James couldn't afford to look at David – the Snitch was just out of his reach. He was right above a stand full of Gryffindors, and he could hear Cameron's broom just behind him. He accelerated, reaching out with his hand for the little Snitch –

"WHY THAT LITTLE – !" shouted Sirius, as James felt a shove on his broom. He pitched forward and tumbled into the audience of Gryffindors. "Cameron's pushed Potter off his broom!!"

James groaned and sat up, but he was smiling. He stood and held up his fist, clutching the Snitch.

"BUT POTTER GOT THE SNITCH ANYWAY!!!" Sirius cried happily. "That'll teach you not to mess with the best, Cameron!!"

Avery flew up and began berating Cameron loudly. He scowled at James as the Gryffindor audience James had landed in hugged James and cheered loudly so loudly he thought his eardrums would burst.

"Nice job there, Prongs," said a voice from behind him.

James turned and found that he had fallen right at Remus's feet. Peter was there, too. And, to James's delight, so was Lily. She looked exhilarated by the game. He smiled knowingly at her.

"Thanks!" he shouted above the din. Peter handed him his broom, which fortunately was still intact, and James hopped on, descending to the Quidditch pitch.

The rest of his team met him with cries of joy, and they hugged all around. "Bloody hell, Cap'n!" shouted Colleen. "I thought we were dead there when you fell. Don't ever do that to a body again!"

They finally got to the locker rooms, and the atmosphere was euphoric. Colleen and David did a victory do-si-do with each other, and Cady, Jake, Lee, and Liz soon joined in. James was caught up in it as well when Colleen grabbed his arm and threw him in, but he wasn't all that opposed.

They finally calmed down enough to take their showers and get out of the locker rooms. James exited first and was met by Remus, Peter, and Lily, who were waiting outside for him.

"That was brilliant work!" Peter squeaked excitedly. "I can't believe you caught the Snitch even when Spoon shoved you off your broom!"

"Thanks, Peter," said James. He looked at Lily. "Well? How'd you like the match?"

"It was amazing! You were right!" she exclaimed. Her cheeks were red from excitement and her green eyes were dancing. "I can't believe I've missed out for all these years!"

"Me, neither," agreed James.

"I was so worried when Colleen got hit with that big baseball bat," she said. "I didn't know Quidditch could get so dirty."

James was confused as to what a baseball bat was, but he said, "It always gets dirty against Slytherin."

"I guess so!" continued Lily enthusiastically. "I mean, that Sergio Cameron pushed you off your broom. I hope he's punished for that. You could have been hurt really badly!"

"Nah," said James, waving it away as Colleen came out of the locker room. "I'm always fine."

"Lily! You came to the game?" Colleen cried, throwing an arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Potter talked me into it. I'm so glad he did!" Lily replied. "You were awesome out there!"

"That's what I've been _telling_ you for the past three years," Colleen laughed.

"You okay? That blow to the head looked pretty bad," said Lily.

"I'm fine. Just a little bump is all," Colleen said, shrugging it off.

Sirius joined them shortly, saying how awesomely James had done and adding that Colleen had done just as well when she glowered at him. They continued talking animatedly about the Quidditch game as they headed towards the castle.

James watched Lily talk with Colleen about the match, her green eyes flashing with enthusiasm, and he was happy had talked her into coming.

- - - - - - - - -

Tempest: Wow! I liked that chapter a lot!!! It was fun to write! I love the Quidditch teams (I usually like reading Oliver/Katie stories, when I'm not around the L/J, R/Hr, or D/Hr sections), so it was really fun to write a Quidditch game. I thought about who would be the announcer, and it just came to me that Sirius would probably be the announcer. He has about the same mentality as Lee Jordan does in Harry's generation. So I just made Sirius the announcer. Good job to **DarkestMaeve **to guessing Sirius's role! To a few people who pointed out my mistakes (I'm ashamed of myself... stupid typos...): Okay, um, "**correction**" (I doubt that's your real name), I had originally written the griffin statue as a sphinx, but I realized that didn't work. I guess I didn't change all of them to griffin. Sorry there. And to **Kaeldra**: Yeah, you're right. Oh well. No, seriously, I regret my mistakes. I was mostly making up the prefect and Head rights then. Sorry.

Thanks everyone for getting me over 100 reviews! I'm really proud! Anyway, I'm very happy with this chapter, and I hope you are, too! Review, review, review!!!

_8-01-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before. I think after this chapter, most of the changes won't be for canon (because my original characters take over for the most part), but I'll still continue with this. I changed a lot of the Slytherins' names to be, well, better. Zebulon, Kade, and Phelon I just got from a baby names website. They have pretty Slytherin-ish meanings, so they made sense._


	9. Already Got One

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Time to list the things I own in this story, since I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER!!! Alright. I own... Zebulon Montague, Kade Brinkman, Phelon Stoker, Sergio Cameron, Damarcus Edwards and Cory Westlake, the players on the Slytherin team, except for Avery (although Mathias was my idea for a first name).

Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Nine: Already Got One**

As November closed and December began, all the students – or at least fourth-years and up – were getting excited about the Christmas Dance. Those who hadn't yet asked someone to the Dance were panicking and rushing about in the hallways, trying to find someone who wasn't already taken. James had watched in amusement many times as his peers were refused by their would-be dates.

It wasn't until a week after the first of December that James realized _he_ desperately needed a date. Suddenly, _he_ was panicking, trying to catch Lily alone, but she seemed to be evading him. She was never in the Head Tower when he was, she always sat far away at meals, and he never met up with her in the halls between classes.

Finally, he had Defense Against the Dark Arts and a chance to talk with her. When a Ravenclaw prefect called Professor Ares out into the hall, the class members immediately turned to their friends and began chatting.

James looked at Lily and found she was still reading from the textbook, intent on ignoring the noise going on. "Hey, Evans," he said.

She glanced at him. Since the Quidditch match, she had seemingly stopped hating him, but she didn't exactly like him either. She was polite to him – even outright nice on occasion – but James never got the feeling that they were friends. "Yes?" she asked.

"Well, I don't have a date for the Dance yet, and I was wondering if you'd come with me," he said casually.

"Oh, sorry, I can't," she told him, turning back to the book. "I already have a date."

He gaped at her. "Y-You already _have_ a date?" he spluttered. "What? Who is it? Is it Butterwick? You seem to be friendly with him..."

"Oh, no, not Lee," said Lily, as if the very idea was laughable. "He's two years younger than I am, I wouldn't go to the Dance with _him_."

"Is he in Ravenclaw? Davies, Weber? Or Hufflepuff? Or, God forbid, Slytherin?" Suddenly James gasped. "Oh, hell… don't tell me it's Snape. I know you and he had some sort of relationship coming into Hogwarts, but honestly, that's vomit-inducing."

"No, he's in Gryffindor," she said with a frown. "And I'll thank you kindly not to insult any friends of mine, past or present."

"Well, who is it, then?"

Her eyebrows came together a bit. "Why do you care so much anyway, Potter?" she asked.

"Oh, um, well... I'm just curious, is all," James lied lamely.

"Mm hmm," she said skeptically. "Well, if you _must _know, I'm going with Remus." She gestured to where Remus sat in the class, reading his book and being a good student.

"_Remus_?!" James gasped.

"Yes, I asked him to come with me a few days ago," she said offhandedly. "It came up during Ancient Runes, and neither of us had a date."

James's mouth was wide open in shock. "He never told me about it!" he protested.

"He's not exactly obligated to, is he?" asked Lily, becoming annoyed by James's reaction. "Unless you make your friends take an Unbreakable Vow to tell you whom they're going to the Ball with."

"No, nothing of the sort," said James quickly. "I was just surprised."

He was silent then, pretending to be nonchalant about the whole thing, but inside he was fuming. _How could he not have told me?_ he demanded inwardly. _I thought..._

James didn't know what he thought, but he snuck a glance at Remus over his shoulder. He still sat, reading their class book.

_Why that little..._

When they were dismissed, James moved quickly to talk to Remus, but he was already gone, heading towards Potions with Peter. James thought of chasing after him, but decided against it. Then he realized that he still needed a date for the dance, now that Lily was taken. He had never thought of the possibility that she might be going with someone else.

_Much less my supposed best pal, Remus "Friend or Foe?" Lupin,_ James thought.

So, during his free period, James dragged Sirius along with him to find another girl. The first one that popped into his head was Colleen, and as she, too, had abandoned Potions with Slughorn for the sanctity of a free period, it was perfect timing. He found her in the Gryffindor common room, doing last-minute Transfiguration homework.

"Hey, O'Brian," he said, sitting down beside her.

She looked up at him in surprise. "Oy," she said. "Didn't expect you to be in here. It must seem a hole next to the Head Tower."

"I was looking for you," he told her. "I need you to come to the Christmas Dance with me."

"Well, as astoundingly romantic as that was, Cap'n," she said, "I'm afraid I must decline. I'm already going with David. Sorry."

James's shoulders drooped. This was not his day. "Do you know about Morris? Or Hamilton?" he asked, almost desperate. He ignored Sirius's ill-disguised snort of laughter.

"Not your day," she said, voicing James's own thoughts. "Liz is going with Jake, and Cady's going with your friend right there." She pointed to Sirius.

James turned to Sirius with a look that asked, _Why didn't you tell me?_

"You're going with Morris? She's two years younger than us!"

Sirius shrugged as his only defense.

"Ugh, fine," James muttered. "A lot of help you turned out to be, O'Brian."

"Hey, it's not my fault Davy Dreamboat got to me first," she said. "Better luck next time, Cap'n."

"Yeah, thanks," he grumbled. "C'mon, Padfoot. Let's go."

"Wait a minute," said Sirius, gesturing to the corner of the common room. "What about her?"

James followed Sirius's gaze and saw Selena Silver, hunched in one of the squishy armchairs. She was hugging her knees with one arm and using the hand of the other to hold open a small, beat-up paperback. She looked more like a mass of bones wearing school robes than a human being, but James remembered that she had given him a small help with Lily, and he held her in slightly higher regard than most girls. So he approached Selena, leaving Sirius with Colleen.

She looked up from her book as he approached and gave him a small smile. It hit him that she reminded him of Remus – sickly, never fully smiling, yet helpful and insightful. "Hello, James," she said in a voice barely more than a whisper.

"Hey," he greeted. "Um, look. I kinda need a date for the Dance, but Lily is already going with Remus, so I was wondering if – "

"If I would go with you?" Selena finished for him. "Of course. I just have to tell you that I'll have to leave early. I hope you're not upset by that."

"No, no, it's fine," James assured her. He paused for a moment. "Not like it's any of my business, but why do you have to leave early?"

"I frequent the Infirmary," she said simply.

James didn't want to pry, remembering how Lily had reacted when he asked her about Selena, so he just said: "Oh, okay then. Uh, I'll come here at ten till seven. That okay with you?"

She nodded. As James began to walk away, she asked in her quiet voice, "Were you upset when you heard about Lily and Remus?"

James stopped, his back still to her. After a moment, he said, "Yeah. Yeah, I was." He turned his head just far enough to see her patented small smile, and then he continued towards Sirius.

- - - - -

James finally caught up to Remus after Transfiguration. Remus had no idea that James was upset and was therefore quite surprised when James cornered him outside the classroom and demanded: "Okay, what's the big idea?"

Remus blinked. "I'm afraid I don't follow you," he said, baffled as to what James would be upset about.

"You're going to the Christmas Dance with Evans. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, yes. I remember that," said Remus in a thoughtful voice. "I had forgotten. I'm glad you reminded me, Prongs. I had been thinking to myself that I needed to get a date."

James looked completely flummoxed as to how someone could forget they had a date with Lily Evans. "You _forgot_?" he asked incredulously.

Remus nodded.

"Well, why didn't you tell me about it before you forgot?"

"I didn't think it was that important. You never expressed need to ask Lily to the Dance, so I assumed that you would go with someone else. Besides that, I think I figured you would prefer that she go with me rather than someone you like rather less. And it's not my fault that she's my date. _She's_ the one who asked _me_, not the other way around. So I suppose, like the information that we were Ancient Runes partners, I deemed it too trivial to tell."

"Trivial my arse," muttered James under his breath.

"Prongs, I'm sorry if I've ruined your life," said Remus, his voice bordering between sincere and sarcastic. "You won't have to go – excuse the pun – _stag_, will you?"

"Oh, no, I got a date – Selena Silver," he said.

"Nice girl," remarked Remus. "One of Professor Slughorn's favorite, actually."

"She good at Potions, then?" asked James.

"Almost as good as Snape," said Remus. He looked out the window onto the grounds. "I can see shapes flying around down on the Quidditch pitch. Shouldn't you be down there practicing?"

"Oh, shit!" James shouted, smacking his forehead. "I've gotta go. See you, Remus!" And with that he sprinted away to grab his Quidditch gear.

- - - - -

When James got down to the pitch, he found with surprise that Lily was there, no doubt to watch Colleen. As soon as James arrived, Colleen, Cady, and Jake began shouting things about what an irresponsible Captain he was, arriving late. He avoided looking at Lily so he wouldn't see her disapproving face, and he kicked off his broom.

"I let out the Snitch before you came," called Cady. "Have fun finding it!" She grinned at him.

"You sneak," he shouted back. "Wait till I tell Sirius he's going to the ball with a sinister little girl!"

"He'll know it's only jealousy. Speaking of which, I'm so sorry I couldn't go with _you_," she replied. "I heard from Colleen you desperately wanted me."

James looked at Colleen, who was listening with an unabashed grin to the conversation, and rolled his eyes. "Yes, that is, of course, exactly how it happened. Now I will find the Snitch, which you so graciously let go before I got here," he said, and sped off to the sidelines, where he hovered, perusing the pitch.

After about ten minutes, he finally spotted it, hovering near the other side of the field in the middle of one of the goals. He caught it easily and took it down to the box that housed the balls.

"Um, nice job, Potter," said Lily as James slipped the Snitch into its niche.

James looked up at her in surprise. "Thanks," he said.

"I heard you're going with Selena. That's nice of you."

"Nothing 'nice' about it, she's a great girl," James replied. He paused for a moment, then: "It's nice of _you_ to go with Remus," he said back, a little more bitterly than he meant to.

Lily frowned slightly at James's tone. "Potter..."

James shrugged, and even to him it seemed like a fake gesture. "No, no, it's okay," he said, and sped off on his broom again.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest**: I didn't expect it to end that way! Well, James is pissed off, huh? Poor James. Okay, everyone, I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but has been down on my comp. I'm not sure if it has on everyone's, but it has on mine. Let's see here... To **freakyfroggurl**: Don't worry, I won't do that. The thought had never even crossed my mind. I know what you mean, though. It infuriates me when people purposely make misunderstandings happen between two characters. Anyway everyone, the Christmas Dance is the next chapter. I'm pretty proud of that chapter too. Okay, review, review, review!!!

_8-02-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	10. Happy Wonderful Christmas

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Alright... I don't own Harry Potter. YOU GOT ME! Also, I don't own the song "Do It For Love", which I use in this chapter. It's by Hall & Oates. Anyway... I can't think of anything I own that I haven't already said, so... That's about it for this disclaimer.

Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Ten: Happy Wonderful Christmas**

The pre-Christmas Break exams were tough to many students, but not to James, or Sirius, or Remus. For the remainder of the class, after they had finished, James and Sirius would talk in loud whispers about the exam, usually giving some answers away. Ares had blown up at them in her class, but in her rage she had also revealed how exactly to deal with a Lethifold, and James and Sirius had promptly cracked up. She took away fifteen House points each, but they won them back in Transfiguration the following day.

James awoke on Christmas Day earlier than usual, around six, and to his delight found a rather large pile of presents at the foot of his bed. Seeing no reason to go back to sleep, he got up and opened the door to the common room. He leaned his head out and saw that Lily was sitting at the couch with her half-opened presents stacked on the coffee table.

James levitated his presents and they followed him as he went to sit in one of the squishy armchairs. They dropped onto the coffee table next to Lily's.

"Good morning," he greeted. "Happy Christmas, Evans."

"Happy Christmas, Potter," replied Lily, nibbling on a Chocolate Frog she had gotten. "Oh, um, by the way," she said, a little uncertainly. "Thank you for the books." She pointed to the three books James had bought her, one on Quidditch, another on Transfiguration, and the last one a first-edition of _The Neverending Story_, which Colleen had told him was Lily's favorite book of all time. "I needed a new copy of that," Lily told him.

"No problem." James picked a rectangular package and turned it over, looking for a name. "Oh, from O'Brian," he said.

"I didn't know you were such good friends," Lily commented. "Colleen got me that." She pointed to one of the many books on the table – _Quidditch Through the Ages _by Kennilworthy Whisp, one of James's favorite books.

"You know there's a copy in the library," he told her while unwrapping the present from Colleen.

"Yes," said Lily. "I just don't know what it is about library books – I don't like them that much. I mean, my family isn't very well off, so more often than not I have to use them, but I prefer to own my books."

James finally ripped through the wrapping paper (it was a very bad wrapping job on the part of Colleen, involving much more tape than could be chewed through), and found a broom-care kit. "Oh, brilliant," said James. "Some of the twigs are coming out of alignment on my Nimbus, I really need to fix it."

"It seems like the only thing Colleen thinks about is Quidditch," said Lily. "Last year she even gave Selena a necklace with a small Snitch on it, and Selena isn't a very big Quidditch fan."

"Neither were you until I made you come to a game," James pointed out, taking another present, this time oddly shaped. He opened the small card that accompanied it. "It says, 'From Sirius, whose ass is God's painting.'" James rolled his eyes, and opened the gift.

"I think his ego is actually bigger than yours," Lily remarked.

Sirius had given James the mother lode of sweets – Pepper Imps, Chocolate Frogs, Every-Flavor Beans, anything that could be gotten at Honeydukes, and James wasn't altogether sure that Sirius had paid for them, not with the secret passage leading straight to the cellar.

James picked up Peter's present next, and read the note aloud again: "'To Prongs, from Wormtail.' This part is scratched out, but I think I can read it... It's in Sirius's handwriting. 'Whose ass is God's Picasso painting.'"

Lily laughed aloud. James stared at her. It was the first time she had laughed in his presence, and it was shocking and awesome at the same time. Her eyes crinkled up and her mouth opened in a wide smile. What surprised James was that it was so honest – as if she rarely got to laugh and was completely taken by surprise that she was doing it at that moment.

After Peter's present (a Remembrall – Peter seemed to think James had the same memory problems that he did) and Remus's (_A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Mischief-Making _by Mercurius Erro), James picked up a small, rectangular package wrapped perfectly in Gryffindor House colors, with a tiny gold bow on the top.

"Wow, small," he muttered, pulling off the bow.

Lily blushed. "Um, that's from me," she mumbled.

A large grin spread across James's face. "Wow, Lily! Thanks! You didn't have to. Wow, thank you!"

"It's nothing really," she said, still a little red. "I just figured that since, you know, you'd given me those books for my birthday, not to mention the ones you gave me today…"

James quickly undid the wrapping paper and uncovered one of the littlest books he had ever seen. On the cover was a picture of a Golden Snitch that darted this way and that, all over the book, so you never knew where it would be at any one moment. The title was _The Smallest Book on the Smallest Ball: The Golden Snitch_.

"It's all about the Snitch and famous Seekers," said Lily. "I thought you might like it."

"This is brilliant, Evans," James enthused. "Thank you _so_ much."

Lily smiled. "You're welcome. Well, I'm going to go take my shower and get down to the Great Hall to have breakfast and help with the decorations. I'll see you."

"Yeah, see you," he said, still gazing down at the book she had given him. This Christmas felt ten times better than any one previous, and just because Lily Evans had given him a tiny little book.

- - - - -

James walked, grinning, into the Great Hall and took a seat next to his fellow Marauders. "Hey, mates. Happy Wonderful Christmas!"

"You, too, but why are you so happy?" Peter questioned.

"Must be a sugar high," Sirius said to Peter confidentially. "I must have filled three sacks with candy. You know he's got a bottomless pit for a stomach when it comes to sweets."

James shook his head. "That's not it – Evans gave me something!" he said. "She actually went out and _bought_ me something!"

"What did she get you?" asked Sirius.

"It's right here." He pulled it out of his pocket. Sirius held out his hand, but James said, "No, you can't hold it, you'll get it sticky. You have syrup all over your hands."

Sirius studied James apprehensively. "Since when do you care so much about a little book? Give it here." He grabbed for it, but James pulled it out of the way.

"No," he insisted. "Evans gave it to me, I don't want it all mucked up."

Sirius rested his chin in his hand and looked to Remus and Peter. "So what do you think, has Prongs gone mental?" he inquired.

Peter nodded, staring apprehensively at James, but Remus said, "It's natural for him not to want you to touch it. It's obviously special to him."

"Plenty of things are special to me, I let people touch them all the time," said Sirius. After a moment, a grin split his face when he realized how wrong it sounded.

Remus grimaced. "Honestly," he mumbled. "Anyway, you should respect Prongs's wishes and not try to get the book with your hands like that."

"All right, just let me go dip my hands in acid," said Sirius sarcastically.

"Thanks, Moony," said James, slipping the book back into his pocket.

- - - - -

At 7:10, James stepped out of the Head Tower in his chocolate-colored dress robes and headed toward Gryffindor Tower to meet Selena. He passed Nearly-Headless Nick on his way, and they shared a quick banter before passing.

He reached the portrait hall, gave the Fat Lady the password, and entered the common room. There, he found Sirius, Remus, and Peter sitting around the fire, along with David Gilmore, the Gryffindor Beater who had asked Colleen.

"Oy, Prongs!" shouted Sirius, running over. His dark blue dress robes matched his eyes, and he had combed his long, black hair so that a few strands flopped down onto his forehead. He grinned. "They're still not down yet. Girls..."

James was surprised Remus was still there. "Shouldn't you be meeting Evans?" he asked.

"You're probably right. I was just enjoying the company before I headed off." Remus said goodbye to the other Marauders before leaving the common room.

Peter looked awfully anxious, playing with the sleeves of his tan dress robes.

"Who's your date, Wormtail?" asked James.

"Piper Willard," he answered. "Fifth year, brown hair, rather tall and pretty."

"What's she going with you for, then?" laughed Sirius.

Peter glared at him. "I'll have you know _she_ asked _me_, so you can sod off, Padfoot," he said indignantly. "I hope she didn't rethink it at the last minute. Do you know of any girls who have done that before?"

"Never with me," said Sirius unsympathetically.

James shook his head. "Don't worry. Colleen, Cady, and Selena aren't down yet, either. They're probably just doing their hair and whatnot."

"Actually, we're done." They looked up to see Colleen standing at the top of the stairs, along with Selena, Cady, and the girl who had to be Piper Willard. Colleen grinned at them. "Well, let's get down there, eh?" She came down the stairs, jumping the last three and landing easily at the foot of the staircase. "C'mon, David."

David smiled at her. "You look great, Colleen," he complimented.

"Thanks," she said. "You look lovely as well, Davy Dreamboat. I know one or two young lassies who'll be mentally scratching out my eyes on the dance floor."

"Well, tell me if any of them are good-looking, will you?"

The other girls came down, too. James watched Selena with slight concern – she looked incredibly frail in her white dress robes, and he almost thought she was going to collapse just there.

"I'm fine, James," she told him with a reassuring smile, obviously sensing his worry.

"Oh, I know," James lied lamely. "Um, let's go."

He, Sirius, Peter, David, and their dates hurried down to the Great Hall. They got there exactly on time, just as the doors were thrown open, and everyone poured into the Great Hall. James didn't bother to mask his awe at how well the decorations had turned out. Of course, he and Lily had helped to embellish the Hall, but they hadn't seen it with all the finishing touches Dumbledore and the rest of the staff had put on.

Sparkly tinsel adorned the Great Hall, and fairy lights jumped around near the ceiling. The gigantic Christmas tree Hagrid had dragged in didn't have an empty branch on it; baubles of all sorts hung from it. Nearly-Headless Nick had convinced the other House ghosts to get in the spirit of things, and the Fat Friar, the Gray Lady, and even the Bloody Baron sang Christmas carols at the front of the Great Hall.

Sirius and Cady immediately went over to the food table, and James followed with Selena. "This is really amazing," said Selena, gazing around. "I can't believe what's been done with this place. Did you and Lily do all of this?"

"No, not all of it," James said honestly. "We helped, though."

Dumbledore stood at the Head table, and, just as though they were sitting down to dinner, the Great Hall fell silent. "First of all," said the Headmaster, "Happy Christmas to all." Everyone cheered. Dumbledore raised a hand to quiet them again. "I just felt I would tell you that, while this ghostly quartet's singing is lovely, they will not be our only entertainment. I have had the fortune to be close acquaintances with a Miss Euterpe Vox, and she has agreed to sing for us tonight."

"Euterpe Vox!" exclaimed Cady excitedly. "She's my favorite singer!"

"She's really famous," agreed Piper Willard, who had joined them with Peter. "I can't believe Professor Dumbledore could get her."

"Have you heard of her before?" James asked Sirius.

Sirius shook his head. "Must be a girls' singer," he said.

To their surprise, though, Euterpe Vox was an amazing singer, and she wasn't all slow, romantic songs as they had thought. She had many good, loud songs that the boys appreciated. Colleen seemed to like them, too; she had abundant energy and was out on the dance floor for every song, even when David was too tired to even stand.

"She's a ruddy ball of fire," he muttered, fanning himself as he watched Colleen grab a fifth-year Hufflepuff and spin him.

After a couple dances, James turned to Sirius and asked, "Have you seen Moony? He and Evans should have been here for a while already."

"Maybe they got, er, distracted," said Sirius with a smirk.

"Honestly, he's not _you_," James rolled his eyes. "I'm going to go look for them." He turned to Selena. "Are you okay here with Sirius and Cady?"

"Of course," she said. "Go and find Lily."

"I'm looking for Remus," James insisted, but Selena just smiled at him. James hurried away, pushing his way through the crowd of couples.

"Watch it, Potter," snarled an unfortunately familiar voice. James turned to find that the last person he had bumped into was Edmond Jugson with – James had to smirk at Jugson's misfortune – Alecto Carrow.

"Hello, James," Carrow greeted him coyly, flipping her patchy hair over her shoulder.

"Hullo," muttered James before rushing away from the pair. Just hearing Carrow's voice sent made him shudder.

Finally, he caught sight of the gray robes Remus was wearing, and the next he saw Remus himself. He leapt at him, nearly pushing a pair of fourth years to the floor. "There you are!" he exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"I've been trying to find you, as well," said Remus.

"Where's Evans?"

"Oh, Keaton Weber asked her to dance this song," Remus said. "I was getting a bit tired anyway."

James was angry for some reason not even he understood. "This is a slow song, Moony! And you let her dance with Weber? Keaton Weber, the Ravenclaw Beater? _That_ Keaton Weber?"

"I don't imagine Keaton Weber is a very common name," Remus remarked. "Now, where are Wormtail and Padfoot? I'll come with you back to wherever you are, but I should probably tell Lily where I am."

"I'll find her, you go over with Padfoot and the others," said James. "They're just over there by the food table." He pointed to where they were standing.

"Thank you," said Remus, and he walked off toward where Sirius stood.

James wove through the crowd, looking for Lily. He didn't see her at first, but he did see Weber, one of the Ravenclaw Beaters. _Then_ James saw Lily.

She wore emerald green dress robes, which matched her eyes perfectly, and her hair was slightly curled so that it fell in silky waves onto her shoulders. Her cheeks were a bit pink from dancing, which gave her a sweet, wholesome look. After James got over his initial urge to turn to mush at the sight of her, he was enraged that Remus had let her dance with Weber.

James stormed up to the couple and asked, "May I cut in?"

"Sure, be my guest," agreed Weber, backing away from Lily. He was actually quite a nice guy, but James wasn't thinking clearly.

James seized Lily's hands in his own and fell into step with her.

"Well, hello there, Potter," Lily said. "Where's Selena? Isn't she your date?"

"She's over with Sirius and Peter," he said. "Remus is heading over there, too, with Colleen and a few other people, probably."

"Oh, that's nice." Lily took a look around. "The Great Hall really looks fantastic, doesn't it? I knew we did a good job decorating, but the professors were brilliant."

"Yeah," agreed James. "So, what's with you and Weber?"

Lily looked surprised. "There's nothing going on between us. He just asked me to dance, and since I have nothing against him, I agreed."

"He didn't try anything on you, did he?" James persisted suspiciously.

"What? No." Lily sounded appalled at the idea. "Of course not!"

"Good," he said emphatically.

Lily frowned in confusion. "Why are you so – ?"

"Excuse me!" James turned to find Sirius and Cady right next to them. "Mind if we swap?" Sirius cut in between James and Lily and swept Lily away from James.

James scowled after Sirius, but took Cady's hands and began to dance with her. The song had changed, and now it was a much faster one. James was normally quite a good dancer (his mother had insisted on lessons for him when he was young), but he couldn't concentrate.

"Ow!" exclaimed Cady. "You stepped on my foot!"

"Oh, sorry!" James jumped away from her.

"You may be a whiz on a broom, James, but you're not much on your feet. I'm finding another dance partner..." muttered Cady, limping away from James.

James sighed and went to the food table, where Remus, Peter, Selena, and Piper were standing. "Hey," said James, serving himself some pumpkin juice. Just before he drank some, he stopped. "Wait, did Sirius spike this?"

"Not yet," said Remus.

"Okay." James downed the pumpkin juice in one gulp. "Silver, do you want to dance?" he asked.

Selena smiled and nodded. "I'll be leaving soon, so yes," she said. James led her onto the dance floor. "You seem upset," she told him. "Why?"

"Nothing. I'm fine," James said, but he was staring over Selena's shoulder at Lily, dancing with Sirius still. Sirius said something to her, and Lily laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You're looking at Lily and Sirius, aren't you?" said Selena. James glanced at her, and she was smiling. "You're angry because Lily is dancing with your best friend. I don't suppose you know why."

"What are you on about?" asked James. "Do you think I'm _jealous_ or something? I'm not, I'm just – "

"Whatever you want to believe, James," said Selena.

James frowned at her. She only smiled back at him. "You're a little infuriating, you know that?" he said.

"Lily's told me on many occasions," she answered, unperturbed. When the song ended, she stepped away and said, "Well, I should probably be going. Have a nice night, James."

"You, too," he said. He watched her leave before going back to Sirius, Remus, and Peter. "Where'd the girls go?" he asked.

"Colleen is with David, Cady's dancing with some Gryffindor in her year, and Lily and Piper are in the bathroom," said Remus. "What happened to Selena?"

"She had to leave early," James told him, taking one of the empty chairs. "She kinda reminds me of you, Moony. Do you know if you're related?"

Remus only smiled – once again reminding James eerily of Selena. Then he stood from his chair, saying, "Well, there's Lily. I think I'll dance this one with her."

James listened to the song change, and he heard with a strange sort of disappointment that it was a slow song. Euterpe Vox's voice rang out clearly as she sang.

"_I would fly ten thousand miles  
Through the pouring rain  
Just to see your face."_

"Hey, Cap'n," said Colleen, coming up to James. David trailed wearily behind her. "You wanna dance with me? This slacker can't take the O'Brian Experience."

"Sure," agreed James. Colleen grabbed his hands, and pulled him onto the floor. James tried not to stare at Lily and Remus.

"_I'd bare my soul to a total stranger  
Just so say your name  
And I'm not ashamed."_

"You been having fun?" asked Colleen, grinning.

James shrugged. "More or less, yeah," he told her. "My date had to leave early, though."

"Selena? Yeah," said Colleen, looking a little worried. "Selena... Selena has troubles."

"_Just to love you into every morning  
I would change my name  
And run away."_

"Does she ever tell you some kinda cryptic things?" asked James. "She keeps talking to me about Evans."

Colleen nodded. "Oh, yeah. All the time," she said. "When I was going out with Kade Brinkman in fifth year, she kept warning me about him. It turned out she was right – I caught him snogging Joni Lansing. Mostly, Selena has some pretty good insight."

James glanced at Lily and Remus and clenched his teeth. "Good insight, huh?" he muttered.

"_I won't do it for money,  
I won't do it for pride,  
I won't do it to please somebody else if it don't feel right.  
But I'll do it for you,  
At least I'll try.  
I don't need any other reason  
Than I feel it deep inside  
I'll do it for love."_

"Mm hmm," said Colleen. "What's she been telling you?"

"Nothing in particular. I think she thinks I'm jealous of Remus for going with Evans, but that's just ridiculous."

Colleen raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you so sure?"

"Now _you're_ doing it!" groaned James.

"_I would write your name across the sky  
So the world could see  
What you mean to me."_

"Sorry, sorry," said Colleen. "But I have a sort of reverence for Selena's 'predictions', or whatever you might call them."

James smiled. "Oh, predictions? Well, that makes me feel better. I never held much stock in Divination."

"_I'd sing songs at the top of my voice  
In an empty room  
Just to dance with you."_

Sirius came up next to them with Cady. "Hey, mates," he greeted. "Rather cheesy song, eh?"

"It's 'romantic'," agreed Colleen.

"What? I haven't been listening," said James.

"_And to love you into every morning  
I'd leave the world behind  
And slow down time."_

"Wait, wait, that's not the worst part. Here comes the chorus," said Sirius, holding up his hand to indicate that James listen to the song.

"_I won't do it for money  
I won't do it for pride  
I won't do it to please somebody else if it don't feel right  
But I'll do it for you  
At least I'll try  
I don't need any other reason  
Than I feel it deep inside  
I'll do it for love."_

"Pretty corny, wot?" Sirius grinned. "'I feel it deep inside'... Sounds more like a bowel movement to me."

"Too many Acid Pops," agreed Colleen.

James nodded, but he was staring at Lily. For some reason, the song hadn't seemed a bit cheesy to him, even though he knew it should. It sounded like the writer knew what he was talking about, and James totally agreed with him.

"_What I'd do for love can take us anywhere at all..."_

Something red caught James's eye, and he looked above Remus and Lily. Hung there was a bright, pretty patch of mistletoe. James felt his stomach drop out, replaced with dread. He immediately let go of Colleen, and began to make his way over to the pair before anyone saw the mistletoe.

He had nearly made it when he heard Sirius shout, "Oy! Look who's under the mistletoe!"

James winced. "Too late," he muttered, watching as Remus and Lily figured out that they were the ones.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Sirius chanted, getting others to join in with him.

James was silent. It was almost like in slow motion. He watched Lily's beautiful emerald eyes meet Remus's, and almost heard their thoughts: _What the heck? Might as well._ Remus bent closer to Lily, her eyes closing slowly. James wanted to turn away, he wanted to run, anything to not see it, but he stood, fascinated and horrified at once, as Remus's lips fell on Lily's.

And in that split second, raw, red-hot rage coursed through his veins. He wanted to tackle Remus to the ground and throttle him, but he stopped himself.

Because then the part of his brain that had been lying dormant for almost eighteen years awoke, and he realized the reason he had been so bothered by Selena's comments and the reason he had identified with the song Sirius had deemed "cheesy". The reason he would have given anything to be in Remus's place at that moment in time.

He loved Lily Evans.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Well, James finally figured it out! Yeah! James is so gifted. This chapter was pretty long, huh? 14 pages, I think, on this Word program. The chapters are normally 6-7 pages. Not too long.

Did anyone notice my double-meaning names? This is probably gonna sound weird, but let's see if anyone can get them and what they mean! Write a review! Okay, tell me what you thought of this chapter, and I will start on chapter eleven straightaway!

_8-03-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before. Also, today, just for fun, I Googled "colleen o'brian fanfiction" and found that someone published two stories in 2005 using Colleen as "Lily's petite blond friend". I'm flattered, except this person didn't give me any credit for coming up with Colleen in the first place. I never thought I'd have to say this, but if you want to use any of my characters in one of your fanfictions, go ahead, but give credit where credit is due...and tell me! I'd like to read it.  
_


	11. Best Shot and Nothing Less

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Harry Potter, mainly because I DON'T own HP. BUT I WISH I OWNED SIRIUS!! And maybe Remus... I'm getting to love him through this story... But I DO own Piper Willard, Euterpe Vox, and Keaton Weber.

Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Eleven: Best Shot and Nothing Less**

James turned away, tearing his gaze away from Lily and Remus, and pushed past Sirius, who – rather thickly – was cheering Remus on.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked, realizing James was leaving.

"I forgot I have, er, Head Student duties," he lied quickly, not meeting his friend's eyes. "I have to go right away." He hurried toward the doors of the Great Hall, and just barely heard Sirius shout: "Then shouldn't you be taking Evans with you, too?!"

He finally made it out of the Great Hall, the loud noises of the Dance still ringing in his ears. Getting away from the Christmas Dance made him feel better and worse at the same time – better, because he no longer was in the same room as Remus Lupin and his snogging partner-slash-James's one true love; worse, because he hadn't punched Remus when he'd had his chance.

"Well, if it isn't James Potter."

James whirled around to see Severus Snape leaning against the stone wall of the hallway. Snape stood up straight and began slinking over to James. "Cooking up trouble, no doubt. What a shame Professor Dumbledore made _you_ Head Boy instead of a respectable student," he sneered.

James would have normally come up with a smart remark to shoot down Snape, but he felt exhausted. "Why aren't you in the Great Hall?" he asked wearily.

"I have better things to do than mingle with classmates while some witch plays crude music," he said. "But I could ask you the same thing."

"Well, sorry, Snivelly, but now's not the time for heartfelt conversations," James sighed. "Although I do feel as if my heart has just been ripped out and made a smoothie of."

Snape looked at him suspiciously before glancing quickly around them. He seemed to be afraid that James was trying to lull him into a false sense of security. Finally assured that there were no hidden buckets of water to drench him when he least expected, he returned to James, an eyebrow raised. "I can only assume that Lily Evans has rejected you in such a way as to destroy even _your_ boundless arrogance," he said with ill-disguised glee.

"You're surprisingly perceptive for someone who spends most of his life under a rock," James shot back wryly.

"It doesn't take a seer to detect the aura of bruised ego that surrounds you, Potter," answered Snape, his lips still curled in what James assumed was his version of a triumphant smile. "So what did Evans do to you?"

"Oh, it's not me," James answered, "but we should fear for the safety of Remus's tonsils."

Snape's eyes narrowed, the smile gone from his face. _"What?"_

"Um, James?"

James jumped. He turned and found Lily standing behind him. His gaze fell on her lips, which were slightly bruised from – he felt his blood boil again – Remus's mouth.

Lily looked past him, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Severus," she said, astonished. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"What a coincidence," said Snape bitingly to Lily, an ironic gleam in his blazing black eyes. "I didn't expect this from you, either." And with that, he whirled around and, his black robes billowing out behind him, strode back down the hall.

James, after watching Snape turn down a corridor, turned back to Lily. "You wanted to see me?" he asked.

Lily seemed to snap herself out of something and met James's gaze. "Er, yes. Black told me you said we had Head Student duties," she said, "but I couldn't remember McGonagall telling us to do anything over break other than help with the Ball."

"Yeah, I lied," said James, breaking eye contact to scuff his foot on the stone floors. "I just wanted to leave early."

"Why?" asked Lily.

James chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to decide whether to tell her the truth or lie. "Because..."

"Yes?"

"Look, Lily," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I know you hate me, but I really like you, so I don't want to see you kissing Remus."

Lily folded her arms over her chest impatiently. "James, the only reason you like me is because I don't swoon when you pass in the halls – "

"_No_," James interrupted. He ran his hand through his messy black hair nervously. "I mean, that's what I thought for a while, too, but it's not true. I really like you."

Lily studied him, her green eyes searching his hazel ones. Finally, she seemed to accept he was telling the truth. She sighed. "I'm really sorry, James," she said, "but I like Remus."

James felt as though someone had replaced his smoothie'd heart with a huge knot of pain. He tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. "You couldn't have at least led me on?" he joked.

She smiled weakly back at him. "Sorry," she said again.

"It's okay. It's not like it's your fault." James shrugged pathetically. "Well, I'm gonna get going. Back up to the Head Tower, you know. Have fun the rest of the night – with Remus."

"James…"

He half-smiled. "You know, you always used to call me Potter," he said, "but now you call me James. I guess you like me a little more now, then?"

After a pause, Lily nodded. "You're a friend now, I suppose."

"That's better than two months ago," he said optimistically, vaguely wondering if he had the beginnings of denial brewing inside him. "Well, goodnight, Lily. I'll see you tomorrow." He started to go, but stopped and turned. "Oh, one more thing."

She looked at him expectantly.

He grinned with his last ounce of perkiness. "Just because you like Remus doesn't mean I'm giving up on you," he told her. "Unless you're officially his girl, I'll do everything within my power to get you to like me!"

Lily looked skeptical, but said, "Give it your best shot."

"Nothing less for you." And then James really did leave.

- - - - -

James was a man on a mission. He kept playing dramatic music from action/adventure films in his head. James had thought before that he was serious about getting Lily to like him, but now it was as though his passion for her burned through his veins. His mind was constantly working to figure out ways to win her over, but he decided to start off slow, start off quietly.

So he invited Lily, Colleen, and Selena to sit with him and the other Marauders the next day at breakfast. It briefly crossed his mind that this might not be the best idea, as he knew how Lily felt about Remus, and Remus _was_ an official Marauder, but he felt so optimistic that it didn't bother him.

Sirius started off the morning by shoveling about three plates of pancakes into his mouth, followed by two helpings of waffles. After wolfing down some French toast, he turned to the girls and grinned. "Bet that's something you don't see everyday."

Surprisingly, the girls just looked on apathetically. "Oh, _very_ impressive," scoffed Colleen.

"Sorry, Sirius," said Lily, who had decided on calling the Marauders all by their first names, "but Colleen does all that and more everyday."

Sirius sized up the tiny girl. "If you eat so much, where does it all go? You're shorter than Wormtail, here."

Peter glared at him. "It's not the size of the boat, Padfoot," he said wisely.

"Yes, but girl's aren't crazy about dinghies," Sirius retorted.

"I burn off the calories at Quidditch practice," said Colleen nonchalantly.

"Let's see your skills, woman," Sirius challenged. "First one to chug a pitcher of syrup wins."

"You're on!" Colleen replied enthusiastically, reaching for the pitcher.

"Peter, time us," Sirius ordered, taking up his own pitcher of syrup.

"Er, okay," agreed Peter, still looking resentfully at Sirius, but interested in any competition. "Ready... go."

The two teenagers began guzzling the syrup straight out of the pitcher, while James, Lily, and Remus watched casually. "If there were any first years here," said Remus dryly, "I think they might have to throw up just at the sight of those two."

Lily seemed just as unimpressed as James and Remus. "How is Sirius?" she asked.

"He does this regularly," answered James. "I think he might actually go through rigorous training in his spare time."

"Colleen did this once when she spent the night," said Lily. "She was up _all night long_. Severe sugar high."

"I'll bet," said James.

Two empty pitchers slammed down onto the table at once. Sirius and Colleen wiped their mouths clean with the back of their hands. "Well?" asked Sirius. "Who won?"

Peter shrugged. "I think it was a tie."

"You _think_ it was a tie?" repeated Colleen. "You don't _know_?"

"How could you not know?" exclaimed Sirius.

"Fine, then, it _was_ a tie," said Peter, rolling his eyes. "Calm down."

Colleen turned to Sirius. "Not bad, Black. You can hold your own against me, eh?" she said, grinning.

Sirius ruffled her long, blond hair like she was a favorite niece. "I think we're going to get to be friends, Little One," he said.

"Shut it,Giraffius." Colleen batted his hand away.

Selena smiled at the two. "So are you two next?" she asked, her chin in her hand.

Sirius seemed bewildered by Selena's question, but Colleen said with a shake of her head: "None of your creepy predictions, Selena. No way _he_ could keep up with me."

Sirius leaned over next to James and whispered, "What is she talking about?"

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," James replied.

- - - - -

Later that night, James and Lily sat in their common room. The fire blazed warmly on the winter night, flickering on their faces. James watched Lily read _The Neverending Story_, the Transfiguration assignment in his hands forgotten.

After a moment, Lily looked up and caught him staring at her. "Er, yes?" she asked.

James smiled. "You're beautiful, do you know?" he told her. He felt very at ease with complimenting her, even though she didn't return his feelings – yet.

Lily seemed a little flustered. "Why do you say that?"

"Because it's true. I may be a Marauder, but I don't lie," he said.

"Well, thank you," she said slowly. "Is this your best shot, then, James?"

"Not even close," he replied. "I've got many more tricks up my sleeve." He smiled. "But did you have fun with us at breakfast? You seemed to be enjoying yourself."

Lily nodded. "I was surprised that you and your friends can be so charming. Sirius wasn't at all what I expected," she said.

"What did you expect him to be?"

She shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. An egotistical prat with a holier-than-thou attitude, I suppose."

"Well, he _is_ an egotistical prat," agreed James. "But he's loyal, and that's what is important."

"Colleen seems to like him," said Lily. "So does Selena, but Selena likes everyone."

"Yeah, Sirius and Colleen are two peas in a pod," James said. "Speaking of which, Selena reminds me a bit of Remus. So you know who that leaves you with."

"Peter?" Lily said innocently.

James grinned. "Hmm, good guess, but I was going more for 'James'," he said jokingly.

She smiled back at him. "Oh, sorry, then."

"I'm afraid I'll have to give you a T on this," he said. "Not at all up to standard, Evans. You've been spending too much time with that Potter fellow."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to ignore him from now on, won't I?" continued Lily, getting up from her chair.

"Oh, no, no, that's not necessary," James said quickly. "Er, Mr. Potter is a wonderful student – handsome, too. In fact, there's _no _better person for you to be around."

"Well, why don't _you_ go out with him, Professor Slughorn? I think he'd be interested…"

"Slughorn?" James exclaimed indignantly.

"Okay, James," said Lily, laughing. "I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams," he said, and it occurred to him that for once he meant it.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Well, there's chapter eleven. A bit depressing at the beginning, wot? Hehe. James and Lily are friends now, so that's good, and so are Sirius and Colleen. I'm still not sure if they'll get together. Maybe, maybe not. Well, I'll see you all on the next chapter. Bye!

_8-03-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before. The whole conversation with Snape at the beginning was completely new._


	12. You Always Disappear

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I assure you, our dear Sirius would not be dead, Ron and Hermione would have gotten together, and a whole TON of other things would have happened. Okay that's about it. Yep.

Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twelve: You Always Disappear**

Christmas break was over all too soon for the Marauders and the girls. On New Year's Eve there had been a huge party in Gryffindor Tower, where Sirius and Colleen had gotten into a drinking contest to see who could down the most butterbeer and still stay standing. The result was detentions for both of them, when McGonagall caught Sirius trying to hit on a hat-rack while Colleen screamed that she loved Professor Slughorn, the Potions master.

The January full moon was coming earlier than usual, in the first week of their return to classes, and Remus was looking very under-the-weather. On Friday, the day of the full moon, Remus had to ask to be excused from Care of Magical Creatures. Professor Kettleburn took one look at the boy and immediately said, "Of course, Mr. Lupin. Please go to the Infirmary."

"I wonder why Remus looks so awful," said Colleen on their way to Charms. "You think he's sick?"

James, Sirius, and Peter exchanged looks. "Oh, he's feeling quite bad," agreed Sirius. "Definitely sick. Heading into a fever, I reckon."

"I hope he's okay," said Lily, sounding troubled.

James put his arm around her shoulder – something he had gotten used to doing without it being followed by a swift kick in the shins. He knew she didn't think of him in any way that was other than platonic, so he tried to pretend it was nothing more than a friendly gesture. "Don't worry about ol' Moony," he reassured. "He'll be fine."

"Yep," Peter added quickly. "He always bounces back."

"'Always'?" repeated Lily. "What do you mean, 'always'?"

"Remus has been this sick before, then?" asked Colleen.

Sirius glared at Peter while James covered, "Oh, yes. Remus gets sick quite often, actually. Seems like every month, really, but he's always fine. He's susceptible to any germs, but he's tough and he'll get through it."

Colleen seemed to accept this, but Lily still looked suspicious. "So 'Moony' gets sick every month, does he?" she muttered.

"Well, that was a simile, really – "

"Well, here we are! At Charms! What do you know," Sirius said loudly. "Let's go in before we're late, then?" He nearly shoved Lily and Colleen into the classroom, before shooting an angry look at Peter. "You just had to say 'always,' didn't you?"

"I'm sorry! You don't think they'll figure it out, though, do you?" Peter apologized frantically.

"We'd better hope they don't, for Remus's sake," said James with a sigh. "It's bad enough Snape already knows."

Sirius's eyes narrowed. "That git deserved what he got," he growled.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Potter? Mr. Pettigrew? Won't you come in? You're nearly late," called Professor Flitwick from inside the classroom.

"Yes, Professor," they chimed, and they filed into Charms. James stole a look at Lily, and was surprised to find that she wasn't concentrating on Flitwick – instead she was staring into space, deep in thought.

- - - - -

That night at sunset, after a short talk with Sirius via their mirrors, James grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and headed out of his room to meet the other Marauders.

Unfortunately, Lily was sitting on the common room couch. She looked up at him. "Where are you going?" she asked, almost too lightly.

"I'm meeting Sirius to work on our Charms assignment," he said – a lie that they had used since they had begun accompanying Remus to the Shrieking Shack.

"Oh, good," she said. "Then you won't mind if I come along."

"You can't!" James exclaimed quickly.

She studied him skeptically. "And why not?"

"Er..." James struggled for a quick answer. "Because Sirius... Sirius doesn't like you!" _That's the best I could come up with?_ he berated himself.

Lily's mouth dropped. "Sirius doesn't like me?" she repeated. "Oh, well, fine for him, then. I'll just stay here."

James breathed a small sigh of relief, and headed toward the griffin statue exit. Then Lily remarked: "You know, you always disappear around this time during the month. I never noticed until I thought about it, but it's true. And you always say you and Sirius are going to work on some assignment for some class – Charms, Transfiguration – but then why don't you work on the assignments together the rest of the time? It's always just one day a month – and you're always gone the whole night."

"Are you knocking our study habits?" he questioned innocently.

"No," she said. "It's just a bit odd."

"Oh, well then," he said uncomfortably. "Don't stay up too late, Lily."

"I won't, James," she assured him, but she seemed a bit preoccupied with her thoughts.

James exited the common room through the statue and threw the Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders. He was worried about Lily discovering Remus's condition, but he didn't have time to think about it. He met Sirius, Remus, and Peter in the corridor where James and Colleen would always split ways after Quidditch, and they joined him under the Cloak.

Remus looked even worse than that morning in Care of Magical Creatures. He was pale and his blue eyes were dilated. His brown hair also looked a bit longer than usual, shaggier. James was used to these changes in Remus – they took place every full moon.

"We nearly ran into Filch," breathed Sirius. "Stupid git had to steal our map last year, didn't he?"

"He wouldn't have gotten it if you hadn't left it _on his desk_," James replied. "Now shh. Let's get Moony to the Shack quickly."

Finally, they reached the Whomping Willow. Peter transformed into a rat and darted under the branches to the knot. The Willow went as still as stone, and James and Sirius rushed Remus through to the passage.

"Hurry, hurry," muttered Remus, his breathing heavy and ragged. "The – moon's – coming – up."

Sirius looked to James, concern and anxiety etched on his face. "This is quicker than usual," he said. "I'm becoming Padfoot."

"Okay," agreed James, pushing Remus ahead of him quickly. They made it to the entrance of the Shrieking Shack, and then Padfoot was by his side, helping to guide Remus up the stairs to the second floor. Sirius turned his deep, dog eyes on James in a way that said: "I've got him. Now you."

James nodded, stepping away from Remus. He concentrated, trying to remember all the details of his stag form – after the years of helping Remus, it came easily to him. Before he knew it, his arms and legs were thinning, and short, brown hair was spurting from all over his body. The strange feeling of antlers growing out of his skull gave him a dull headache, just as it always did. His hazel eyes swung around to the sides of his head, and he could see to the left and right at the same time. He saw Peter the rat sitting near him, nervously combing his whiskers while watching James transform.

Then he was Prongs, and he darted forward to help Sirius with Remus. Remus was just nearly beyond speech – he was at the screaming point. James, Sirius, and Peter were all used to Remus's incoherent shrieks as he turned into a werewolf. Occasionally they could catch bits of sentences, and they chilled James to the bone. Remus never remembered what he said when he turned werewolf, and he seemed relieved.

Then Remus went silent, and Sirius communicated to James: "Are you ready? He's almost done."

"I'm ready," James answered silently, standing on Remus's other side.

Then Remus screamed again – it was much more painful to turn into a werewolf than to transform as an Animagus. Remus clutched at his arms with long claws and shortening fingers as he sprouted long, shaggy fur. His face elongated into a snout, his teeth into sharp incisors. He fell forward onto his half-human, half-werewolf forelegs as his hind legs became fully wolfish. He shrieked again – this time a wolf's howl more than human's scream – as his tail burst, full and bushy, into being. James winced – if a stag can wince – as Remus's ears climbed to the top of his head, becoming pointed and alert. Remus shook himself free of his school robes, and Sirius kicked them away into a corner.

Remus's eyes flashed yellow as he clawed at himself, gnawing his own leg. James nudged him with his antlers, and Remus, fully a werewolf, latched his jaws onto James's antlers. It didn't hurt, but it was a bit annoying not to be able to move his head. Sirius watched grimly for a minute, letting Remus try and get all his bites out before going on their walk through the Hogwarts grounds.

Peter scurried around, sniffing at Remus's tail. Remus let go of James momentarily to snarl at Peter, who jumped back and hid behind Sirius. As a rat, Peter had the worst time of it (other than Remus, of course) as he couldn't see quite as well as Sirius and even James. Peter was a naturally anxious person, and rats are built for quick, jerky movements, so he came off almost as a normal rat, and he said it wasn't at all a pleasant feeling.

Remus finally calmed down – for a werewolf – and James and Sirius guided him down the staircase of the Shrieking Shack to the entrance of the passageway. Peter ran ahead of them, holding the Willow still as they headed to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where hardly anyone went. They just had to be careful not to go near Hagrid's hut.

Sirius was dog-smiling, realizing that Remus was getting better under their influence. "Well, this is fun, isn't it?" he asked with his body language.

"Yes. Fun," agreed Remus haltingly, sarcastically. It was hard for him to communicate with them, even when he was feeling pretty much in-control of his actions. The previous year, he hadn't been able to "say" anything at all.

"We're sorry. It can't be much fun for you," James apologized.

Remus didn't reply. In fact, he had gone quite still, his eyes trained on a figure by the lake. His tongue ran along his lips.

James cocked his head so one eye was staring at the silhouette, which seemed to be human. "Wormtail, go," he ordered.

Peter dashed toward the shadow, and James lost sight of him in the night. He and Sirius tried to distract Remus from the shadow. Sirius offered to play, wagging his tail and lolling his tongue out, but Remus only snapped when Sirius tried to get near.

Finally, Peter returned. "A student," he told them. "Leaving now, though."

Remus tried to lunge forward, but James stopped him, nudging him firmly back the other way, and Sirius joined him. Peter helped the best he could, biting Remus's foreleg and trying to pull him away. Eventually, Remus forgot about the would-be prey, and they spent the rest of the night exploring the grounds. James and Sirius were still a bit on-edge about the near accident, but it had all turned out fine. They only hoped the student, whoever it was, hadn't seen them.

- - - - -

At dawn, Remus turned back, followed by James, Sirius, and Peter. Remus was exhausted, as he always was after the transformation. He never really could remember what happened on those nights, and he wouldn't ask. He might recall snatches of "conversations" that they had, though, and he seemed to enjoy those, if only slightly.

Under James's Invisibility Cloak again, they made it back to the castle, and James let Sirius, Remus, and Peter take it to help them back to the dorm. Sirius promised he would give it back to James at breakfast.

James didn't rush back to the Head Tower. Filch rarely prowled around in that area of the castle, so he had little to worry about. When he got back to the common room, it was around seven, near the time Lily usually woke up. He had a whole story worked out for why he was so late getting back from the "study session", but as it turned out, he didn't have to use it.

Lily was on the couch, but she wasn't awake. She had curled up on it and was breathing slowly and evenly. James felt strangely protective of her.

He tiptoed over to her and shook her lightly. "Lily," he whispered. "Lily, wake up."

She stirred, blinking groggily. "Oh, James, good morning," she greeted, looking around. "Well, I can't yell at you for being in my room, can I?"

"Nope," he said, smiling. "Do you want to sleep a little longer? I'll take you back to your bed."

"Only if you carry me," she said. "I'm _so_ tired."

James hefted Lily up and carried her into her room. He pulled back the covers with his foot and tucked her in. "You only have about an hour, though," he warned.

"It's okay," she agreed. James started to leave, when she said sleepily: "I had the weirdest dream. I was by the lake, and this rat ran up to me. It looked at me for a while, and then it ran away, to a couple of animals – what looked like two dogs and a deer. Only one of the dogs was really, really big. Maybe it was a wolf." She turned over under the covers and laughed. "What a dream."

James stopped still. "Uh, yeah," he laughed, his voice squeakily high. "What a dream! Now just go to sleep, Lily." He turned to wish her a good morning's rest, but he found that she was already sound asleep.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Hmm, how interesting. Lily is smart, isn't she? Hehe... Anyway, I'm so happy! I've hit 200 reviews! In the words of Chandler Bing: "I rule all. Mini-wave in celebration to me!" This is awesome. I love you guys! Anyway, the two people that had meanings in their names in chapter ten were Piper Willard and Euterpe Vox. Piper Willard, because she went with Peter (who can turn into a rat) to the Christmas Dance, and that whole story with the piper taking all the rats out of that one town. And did anyone see that movie _Willard_, about the guy who was friends with rats? And Euterpe Vox; Euterpe is the Muse of Music in Greek mythology and "vox" means "voice" in Latin. To **The Elfin Child**: Wow, I had no idea I had named Cady so appropriately... I'm glad you had fun looking up the names! Anyway, everyone, review, review, review!!

_8-03-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	13. All Is Fair

**Change of Heart**

By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Nope, nope. Don't own Harry Potter. I own... Joni Lansing. I mentioned her in chapter ten. Oh, and I want to say again that I own Selena and Colleen, just because I don't have anything else to say.

Summary: James knows he's in love with Lily, and he's told her. Unfortunately, she likes Remus. Still, James has promised to give her his best shot and nothing less, unless she's officially Remus's girl. Meanwhile, they get closer and closer as friends, and don't the best of friends make the best of lovers? All James is waiting for is for Lily to have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Thirteen: All Is Fair…**

After putting Lily in her bed and covering her up, James showered, letting the hot water run on him as he contemplated Lily's sleepy confession. Had she truly been the shadowy student near the lake? Surely Peter would have said if it was Lily. But his eyesight as a rat was admittedly sub-par…

James finally decided that he could not decide anything on the subject, so he turned off the water – his hands rather prunier than usual – and stepped out of the luxurious shower. He grabbed one of the fluffy red towels to dry himself off with and walked through the door to his room to get dressed.

Down in the Great Hall, James and the other Marauders were all yawning amid their lame attempts at conversation. Even Sirius seemed to lack the necessary gusto to down more than three plates of sausage and eggs.

"I feel like something happened last night that was out of the ordinary," muttered Remus, massaging his temples. "Did it?"

James, Sirius, and Peter exchanged looks. "A student was by the lake," James said reluctantly.

Remus's eyes widened, and he looked pained. "Please tell me they're okay. Please say I didn't do anything." He looked back and forth among the other three.

"They're fine," Sirius assured him. "You didn't do anything."

Remus closed his eyes in relief. "Thank God," he whispered. "Do you know who it was?"

"No," James lied. He wanted desperately to forget what Lily had said about her "dream" that morning. "We don't."

"Hey, boys!" They turned to find Lily, Colleen, and Selena. It was Colleen who had called to them. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," they chorused.

"You all right, Remus?" asked Colleen, studying him. "You didn't look too good yesterday, and today's not much better."

"Thank you," he said, rather sarcastically. "But really, thank you for your concern. I'm fine. What about you, Lily? You have bags under your eyes."

Lily blinked several times, as though trying to keep her eyes open. "Yes, I was up rather late last night, Charms assignment, you know." She turned her gaze on James briefly.

He smiled at her. "It's a Saturday," he told her. "You can go back to sleep."

"I'm fine," she insisted, still rubbing her eyes with her hands.

"Anyway," said Colleen, "we were just wondering if you'd all like to have a snowball fight with us. There's enough snow down there to drown Professor Flitwick."

"Sure," agreed Sirius. James, Remus, and Peter nodded in assent as well.

Colleen grinned. "Brilliant! Let's get down there, then!"

- - - - -

Since Selena decided she would just sit and watch, it was three against three, with Colleen and Sirius as "captains". They spent about five minutes playing rock-paper-scissors to figure out who would pick first, but finally Sirius emerged the victor.

"All right," he said. "James, come on down, mate."

"Lily," called Colleen.

"Remus."

"Peter." As Peter jogged over to join Colleen's team, Colleen clapped and rubbed her hands together. "All right! We're gonna kill you, Black," she challenged.

Sirius scoffed. "You couldn't kill me with a ten-foot wand," he replied. Then he grinned. "Actually, I _have_ a ten-foot wand, if you'd like to – "

"Is this really the time for penis innuendoes?" Remus asked wearily.

"Okay, okay, you're right," said Sirius. "Come on, boys. Let's go strategize!"

"Padfoot, this is a snowball fight," said James, rolling his eyes. "I don't see h–OW!" He reached up to touch his snow-covered head, turning toward the laughter.

Lily was laughing loudly. "I have good aim!" she exclaimed between chortles.

"'Swhy I picked her!" Colleen called with a grin.

"Fine! No strategies, this is war!" shouted Sirius, scooping up some snow and hurling it at Peter. It hit him squarely in the chest.

"Right, because _war_ requires no strategies," said Remus dryly, jumping out of the way of Peter's retaliatory snowball. "_This_ is more like mayhem."

After a few minutes of avoiding the further onslaught of Colleen's team, James found himself hiding with Remus behind a rather large snowdrift, preparing a large stock of snowballs. "Hey, Moony," he greeted.

"Hello, Prongs," said Remus, sticking his head a little ways up beyond their snowdrift to gauge the enemy's position. "How are you?"

"Okay," James answered. "I told Lily I like her."

Remus glanced at him. "And how did that go?"

"She likes you," James said quietly.

"Oh, I know," Remus replied.

James's eyes widened. "You _know_?" he spluttered.

"James, I notice things," Remus told him. "I don't do things, so I notice them instead. I knew you loved Lily long before you admitted to it, but I didn't say anything, because I also knew that you wouldn't want to hear it."

"Why did you kiss her, then?!" he demanded, angry that Remus knew how James felt about Lily.

"So you would notice, too."

"Do – do you like Lily?" James inquired.

"No," said Remus. "No, I don't." Then he scooped up a snowball and said, "Now, I'm heading into no man's land, to die for my beloved – albeit off his rocker – leader." And he darted around the snowdrift away from James.

James sat down, leaning against the snowdrift, the game almost completely forgotten. He heard footsteps approaching him, and he opened his eyes, to see Selena with a snowball in her hand.

"I thought you weren't playing," he said, warily eyeing the snowball between her mittens.

"I'm not. Here," she said, handing him the ball. "I overheard what you and Remus were talking about. I'm glad you finally came to your senses."

"_I'm_ not," he said, taking the snowball and looking into her soulful gray eyes. "You're like Remus, aren't you? You notice things, and you tell people, but nobody ever believes you."

"People have to see things for themselves," said Selena with a shrug. "Now that you've noticed, I've decided to work on Lily."

James frowned slightly. "Lily loves Remus," he said.

"But Remus doesn't love Lily," she pointed out, "and you do."

"That just makes me pathetic," said James glumly.

"Don't worry," said Selena. "Now, shouldn't you be playing with your team rather than talking to me?"

"Yeah," agreed James, standing. Immediately a snowball hit him in the back. He turned to see Colleen standing there, grinning. "You're dead, O'Brian!" He hurled Selena's snowball at her, and it hit the side of her head.

Colleen fell onto the snow. "I've been hit!" she shouted, crawling over to where Lily crouched behind a snowdrift opposite James's. "You'll have to carry on without me!"

"I'll avenge you!" cried Lily, standing. She chucked her snowball at James, but he dodged it, scooping up snow as he went. He tossed some at Lily, and it just barely grazed her side.

"I'll help you, mate!" Sirius shouted, coming up beside James with a whole pile of snowballs in his arms. He set them on the ground and he and James helped themselves, pelting Lily with a rain of snowballs.

Lily screamed and took cover behind her snowdrift. "Peter! Where are you?" she yelled.

"He's over here," said Selena, waving. Peter sat by her side, grinning sheepishly and covered in melting snow.

"Colleen, get up!" pleaded Lily, nudging Colleen with her foot, but Colleen wouldn't budge – she only lolled her tongue out of her mouth and groaned.

James and Sirius came to stand just over Lily, smirking down at her. "So, this is all that remains of your mighty empire," said Sirius seriously. "How pathetic. Potter?"

"Yes, sir?" asked James, playing along.

"Take this woman as a prisoner for questioning later," he ordered, but he was grinning.

"As you wish, sir!" James leaned down and hoisted Lily up, throwing her over his shoulder like a caveman's wife.

"Let me down, James!" Lily laughed, pounding on his back. "Let me down!"

James held onto her tightly, laughing at her predicament. "Keep squirming, Lily. It's a good way to get dropped," he laughed warningly.

Lily huffed but fell still. James carried her the rest of the way to the castle, and then put her down when they reached the doors. "That was fun, huh?" he said, smiling.

"Oh, yes, fun," she agreed sarcastically, but she was smiling as well.

The others caught up to James and Lily. Sirius was saying to Colleen, "We won, so we should get some sort of prize."

"Isn't the victory enough for you?" asked Colleen.

"Hell no," said Sirius. "You all have to do something for us."

"Aren't you supposed to decide the stakes _before_ you play?" Lily pointed out. "We don't owe you anything for losing."

Sirius ignored her. "You're just lucky I can't think of anything right now. Don't worry, though. I will."

"Nothing dirty, Black," warned Colleen. "I know how that mind of yours works."

"Of course you do," said Sirius, "because yours works the same way."

Colleen shrugged. "Yeah," she agreed.

"You guys are so much alike," said Lily, "I'll bet you could be each other for a day and no one would notice the difference." Sirius and Colleen looked at her in confusion. "I mean, Colleen, you could act like Sirius, and vice versa," said Lily, "and no one could tell."

"You know, I'll betcha we could," said Sirius thoughtfully. "You wanna start now, Colleen?"

"Who're you calling Colleen?" asked Colleen, her voice a few octaves lower than normal. "I'm Sirius Black, and I hate myself!"

"Maybe I was wrong," muttered Lily.

- - - - -

Sirius and Colleen kept them entertained with their antics while they ate dinner that night. "You're so sexy, Colleen," said Colleen to Sirius. "I could be sexy, too, but I hate myself."

Sirius turned to James and Lily. "I have something to tell you guys. This is my real voice," he said, dropping his voice about five octaves from the high tone he had been using as Colleen.

Selena smiled. "Really, they would make quite a cute couple," she said privately to James, Lily, Remus, and Peter.

"Yeah, the only problem is, you can't tell who's the one with the balls," remarked James.

After dinner they parted ways – Sirius, Remus, Peter, Colleen, and Selena going to Gryffindor Tower, and James and Lily heading back to their Head Tower. When they entered the common room, James threw himself on the couch. "That was tiring," he sighed.

"Colleen and Sirius together can really wear a person out," agreed Lily, sitting in one of the armchairs.

James maneuvered himself so that he was facing her. "Did you have fun, though?" he asked.

Lily smiled. "Yes," she said. "I almost regret hating you all these years because of how much fun I'm having with you and Sirius and Remus and Peter."

"You 'almost' regret it?" he repeated. "Why 'almost'?"

"Because it was rather interesting, if not annoying, having you pestering me all the time to go out with you," she said, shrugging.

"You liked it!" exclaimed James, sitting up. He pointed an accusatory finger at her. "You _liked_ it!"

"I didn't say that!" she protested.

"You liked it," continued James. He looked up at the ceiling, his arms spread wide. _"She liked it!"_

"I didn't say I liked it, I said it was interesting." She smiled. "But it _was_ fun knowing that I was one of the few girls that could say no to you."

"You still are," he said a little sadly.

Lily stared at him strangely. "James, I love you," she said, "but only as a friend. At least right now."

James sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So, then... There is hope?" he asked, sounding pathetic even to himself.

"Yes," she said, smiling a little and nodding. "Just wait for me."

James smiled back at her. "I'll wait forever for you, Lily."

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** That seemed like a pointless chapter to me, but it was kind of fun. Just a little bit of character development, I think. I saw _Seabiscuit_! That was a great movie! It made me cry at a couple parts, which is always good. Um, let's see... Next chapter will be interesting, and chapter fifteen will definitely be good for you romantics out there. ;) See you in chapter fourteen! Review, review, review!!

_8-03-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	14. Dream Come True

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or his world, or the generation the Marauders are in. Hmm, I do own Colleen and Selena and anyone else you don't recognize as from the books. I wish I owned Sirius... WHY?? WHY MUST HE DIE??

Summary: James knows he's in love with Lily, and he's told her. Unfortunately, she likes Remus. Still, James has promised to give her his best shot and nothing less, unless she's officially Remus's girl. Meanwhile, they get closer and closer as friends, and don't the best of friends make the best of lovers? All James is waiting for is for Lily to have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Fourteen: Dream Come True**

That weekend, Hogsmeade was filled with Hogwarts students milling about, looking in windows of Zonko's or Dervish and Banges, or trying to meet up again with their friends. James, Lily, and the others, except Selena, sat at a table in The Three Broomsticks sipping their butterbeer and making small talk. Lily was keeping an eye on the amount of butterbeer Colleen was consuming, as she didn't want to have to give her best friend a detention for drunkenness, but Sirius was guzzling the stuff down like it was going out of style – or like it was syrup.

"So after this, what do you want to do?" asked Lily.

"Peter and I are heading to Zonko's," said Sirius, and Peter nodded. "April Fool's Day is coming up, and we don't want to be unprepared."

"I'll go with you," volunteered Colleen.

Lily eyed them warily. "Watch yourselves, you three, while you're there," she said. "I've heard McGonagall keeps a pretty watchful eye on the joke shop."

"Puh-lease," said Sirius, waving his hand so wildly he nearly slapped Remus in the face. "I _know_ how to handle the _ladies_." He waggled his eyebrows saucily at Colleen.

"I don't have to be anywhere, really," said Remus sleepily. The February full moon was approaching and Remus was becoming more and more sickly as the moments passed.

Lily gave him a brief, sympathetic look that James noticed with a sharp burst of emotional pain. He hadn't told Lily about his conversation with Remus, even though he knew it might help his cause. He just didn't want to break Lily's heart – he didn't want Remus to, either, as a matter of fact. Just the thought of Lily sad made him want to rip Remus's arm off and bludgeon him with it.

_And he probably wouldn't put up much of a fight, either,_ James thought, looking at his friend. Remus was nearly asleep where he sat across from Peter.

"Don't get into trouble," Lily warned Sirius, Colleen, and Peter as they went off to Zonko's. "I don't want to have to report you."

"Don't worry," said Colleen.

"Yeah, you won't have to report ush," agreed Sirius. "If we get in trouble, it'll be sho big that McGonagall hershelf will come."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sirius, you're slurring your S's. You've had too much butterbeer."

"Shally shells sheashells by the sheashore," he said defiantly. "Let'sh go." He tried to pivot on his heel but went too quickly and nearly fell over.

Lily winced, watching as Sirius took Colleen and Peter with him in the direction of Zonko's – or rather, Colleen and Peter propped up Sirius, who was trying to begin a rousing, three-person staggered performance of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". "That boy worries me," she murmured.

"He can take care of himself," James assured her. "Now come on. Where do you want to go?"

But, as it turned out, Sirius, Colleen, and Peter _couldn't_ take care of themselves. They heard later that Sirius had shoved Peter into a display of Filibuster's fireworks and set off about fifty of them at once in Zonko's, earning them both detentions. Colleen had also gotten one, just because she had been laughing hysterically, and McGonagall was already suspicious of her since New Year's.

That wasn't the worst of it, though. When Sirius showed James the detention slip, James saw the date: the eleventh, the same night that Remus would be undergoing the transformation.

"Ask McGonagall if there's any way you can change it," James said. "We need you and Wormtail."

"I'll ask, but I doubt there is," said Sirius. "Why would you be able to choose the date of your punishment? And we can't exactly _explain_ to her that we need to accompany Remus to the Shrieking Shack."

"Just check if there's any possibility," James told him.

There wasn't any. Sirius and Peter were stuck cleaning trophies with Filch on February eleventh, as James hurried to get Remus under the Invisibility Cloak earlier than usual. He wanted to give himself some time to get Remus there before he underwent the transformation.

So, around five, James strolled towards Gryffindor Tower. He had taken some food from the kitchens earlier so that he could miss dinner, because the winter nights came earlier in the day than the rest of the year. Remus was waiting for him in a nearly-empty common room. Sirius, Peter, and Colleen were down at dinner, because McGonagall wanted to keep an eye on them even before the detention started. The only other person in the room was Selena; she sat curled up in one of the armchairs, reading.

Selena smiled at James as he entered. "Hello, James. What brings you here this fine evening?" she inquired.

"I'm looking for Remus," he replied. "Have you seen him?"

"He hasn't been by, so he must still be up in his room," she answered.

James nodded in acknowledgment before ascending the stairs to speak to Remus. "Come on, Moony," he said, in the lines that he had rehearsed earlier, in case someone should overhear them. "Let's go down to dinner. Thanks for waiting for me."

"It's – no – problem," breathed Remus, standing shakily from where he sat on his bed. He staggered across the room to latch onto James's arm for support, as James accompanied him out the door.

"Selena's in the common room," James said to Remus under his breath, "so we can't put the Cloak on just yet."

"Just – hurry," he replied, his voice ragged.

They made it down the steps haltingly, Remus breathing roughly in James's ear, and then nearly across the common room to the portrait of the Fat Lady. James had just opened it for Remus, when…

"James?" It was Selena. She had looked up from her book and caught sight of the two of them about to leave.

"Yes?" he answered reluctantly, aware that every moment counted tonight, with Remus in such a condition.

"Could you come here for a moment?"

James glanced over his shoulder at her and saw that she needed to speak to him; the look on her face told him there was some urgency. "You go on," he whispered to Remus, passing him the Invisibility Cloak. "You think you can make it?"

Remus just nodded and left the Gryffindor commons quickly. James hurried over to where Selena sat. She had closed her book and was looking at James intently.

"Well?" he prompted her after a while.

"I know about Remus."

James froze for a split second before laughing. "Oh? And what is it you 'know'?" he asked, but his voice hit a careening note.

"It's no use pretending, James, I figured it out long ago," she said. "I've also figured out that – somehow – you and Sirius and Peter accompany him to the place he goes during the full moon, wherever that may be. I don't yet know how you do it, but I think I rather understand. It has to do with the nicknames you call each other, doesn't it? Only, I can't get what your name means. Prongs..."

James averted his eyes. "Yes, so you know, then," he sighed. Then he raised his head to meet her gaze again, his eyes blazing intensely. "You mustn't tell anyone."

"Of course not," she said. "But there _is_ someone who has also figured it out. She confided in me that she thought there was something the matter with Remus, since he always got sick once a month. Then she remembered that his nickname was Moony, and she looked it up on the lunar calendar…"

"Who's this?" James asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Lily."

James ran a hand through his hair anxiously, wondering how Remus was at that moment.

"But there's more," said Selena, "and it's not good. Lily's the type that has to make sure she's right. Today she checked the calendar and found that the full moon was tonight. She's going to make sure of her theory. She could be following Remus right now, as we speak."

James's heart skipped a beat and his muscles seized up, before he sprinted towards the portrait hall, throwing open the exit to Gryffindor Tower and dashing down the hall toward the Whomping Willow.

He heard the loud, familiar _meow!_ of Mrs. Norris behind him, but he didn't stop until he had reached the foot of the Willow, which was, forebodingly, stone-still. He darted into the passageway, changing into Prongs as he went. Soon cloven hooves beat the ground instead of sneakers, churning up the dirt that paved the passage into the Shrieking Shack. Finally he reached the entrance.

He had to slow to go up the stairs in his stag form, and he heard a human scream from the second story. He leapt to the landing and saw, through his strange stag-vision, Remus, hackles raised and his lips curled back in a snarl, advancing on Lily, who was huddled behind a chair.

"Remus! Remus, it's me, Lily!" she screamed.

Remus let out a howl of hunger, his bushy tail lashing back and forth.

"_Remus!"_

James pushed off with his hind legs just a split-second before Remus jumped at Lily. James willed himself to make it there faster, concentrating every bit of himself on stopping Remus.

Then his antlers connected with Remus's side, jarring his head violently, but he knocked the wolf Remus away. James shook himself and then leapt to block Lily from Remus, who had recovered enough to stare at her hungrily. Remus snarled at James from where he lay on the floorboards. He tried to lunge again at Lily, but James thrust himself in her way, and Remus locked his jaws around James's shoulder, tearing at him with his sharp claws. Blood dripped to the floor.

James looked at Lily through one of his pain-filled eyes and motioned for her to get out. She didn't need any encouraging; she leapt up and bolted down the stairs and out of the Shrieking Shack.

Remus calmed down a few minutes after Lily left and relinquished his death-grip on the stag's shoulder. James stepped back from him, pain shooting through his leg, but he kept a wary eye on the werewolf. Remus bit at the couch halfheartedly for a while, until James deemed it safe to tell him: "I'm leaving. Stay here."

Remus didn't respond, but James could tell that he understood, so he hobbled out of the Shrieking Shack to find Lily. He needed to talk to her, to explain things to her.

He found her collapsed from exhaustion a little ways away from the Willow, just out of range of its branches. He turned back into himself before shaking her awake; his shoulder still throbbed with pain, but the transformation back had mostly closed up the wound. "Lily," he hissed. "Lily, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open and focused on him. "James?" she said, dazedly.

"I'm getting you to the Infirmary," he told her. "Can you walk on your own?"

"Yes." She sat up too fast, though, and got a head rush. After it subsided, she turned to him and said, her eyes wide: "Remus... he's a werewolf."

"I know," James told her quietly.

"He... he almost bit me," she whispered. "A stag saved me, though. That was – " Her eyes fell on his wounded shoulder, and she gasped. "That was _you,_ James."

James looked away and said, "Let's get to the Infirmary, hm?"

"No, it was you," she said. "I know it was. You're Prongs because of your antlers. And Sirius and Peter, Padfoot and Wormtail... You're all Animagi!"

James was silent.

"James, that's incredible!" Lily continued. "It takes most wizards half of their lives to learn to be Animagi."

"Lily, you have to promise to never, _ever_ tell anyone that you know about us," he said seriously, ignoring the pain in his shoulder to ensure Lily's secrecy. "And not just me and Sirius and Peter, but also Remus. Other than you and Selena, Snape is the only other person who knows."

"Snape?" Lily repeated. "Why does he – ?"

"Long story," James interrupted. "Now please, let's get to the Infirmary. Can you walk?"

Lily nodded, standing. James put an arm around her waist just in case she fell, and assisted her to the Infirmary.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Hahahaha! That was eventful, wasn't it? Well, the next chapter is in the Infirmary, with some romance, as I promised. And then chapter sixteen should be the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff game (wow, that's a lot of F's). Okay, now I will respond to some people. **Jsas:** Well, they went to Hogsmeade, just like you asked! I knew I should have a Hogsmeade weekend somewhere. **Misha:** Wow, you talk just like my friend Jane! About going insane and murdering everyone if I don't update... **Anna Black:** Don't worry; Colleen's middle name is Anna. **Flexi Lexi:** Really? You got a jolt when Lily said that?! Wow, I'm so proud of myself!! **eep:** I had no idea I had puns in here... Could you tell me a couple of the ones you found? **Hplova4eva:** About the James being Head Boy thing... I think I read in my _Exploring Harry Potter_ book that James and Lily were the Head Students, so that's where I got the idea. It also made sense, because in OotP, it said that James and Lily got together in seventh year.

_8-03-07: This chapter has been revamped! I took some liberties with Animagus transformations and assumed that turning back would heal you a little bit, perhaps just for werewolf wounds. Because, you know, only humans can be infected, so if you're attacked as an animal, maybe it would heal…? Anyway, ignore it if you don't like it._


	15. Many More to Come

**Change of Heart**

By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Boy, do I not own Harry Potter.

Summary: James knows he's in love with Lily, and he's told her. Unfortunately, she likes Remus. Still, James has promised to give her his best shot and nothing less, unless she's officially Remus's girl. Meanwhile, they get closer and closer as friends, and don't the best of friends make the best of lovers? All James is waiting for is for Lily to have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Fifteen: Many More to Come  
**

"Madam Pomfrey!" James shouted through the door to the Infirmary. "Madam Pomfrey, open the door!"

"For goodness's sakes, Mr. Potter," he could hear her muttering through the door, "keep it down. What can it possibly – ?" She opened the door and immediately took in the sight of James, his shoulder still raw and bloody, and Lily, cold and wet from the snow that had begun to fall outside, standing before her. "Oh, dear Lord. Come in, come in." She ushered them in quickly and closed the door tightly behind them. "Each of you, on a bed, now."

James helped Lily up before going to his own reluctantly. Madam Pomfrey fixed him in her glare, obviously suspecting him more than Lily. "Well, Mr. Potter, what happened here?"

"I was out for a walk on the grounds," said James, "when I found Lily in the snow. She looked hurt so I brought her up here to see you."

"That's a nice story, Mr. Potter, but it doesn't quite explain the wound on your shoulder," Madam Pomfrey answered, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Oh." James looked at the injury in bemusement. "I, uh… I fell."

Madam Pomfrey's mouth tightened as she looked at him. "Very well," she said finally. "I'll get Professor Dumbledore in here, and we'll see how your story changes. But first, let me examine you two." She carefully looked over both James and Lily, and found that other than his shoulder, James had only a few scratches on his chest, but Lily had a cold and a sprained ankle. Madam Pomfrey glared at James when she announced this, as if it was somehow his fault Lily was hurt.

She fixed Lily's ankle with a flick of her wand, but she told her that there was no magical cure for the common cold, so Lily would have to stay in the Infirmary, at least overnight. Then she dabbed some dittany on James's abrasions and bandaged his shoulder.

"You'll stay here, too, Mr. Potter, until I can get Professor Dumbledore up here to speak with you," she ordered, and walked briskly out of the Infirmary.

James waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps before turning to Lily. "Are you okay, Lily?" he asked.

"I guess so," she said, coughing a little. "What about you? How's your shoulder?"

"It's better." James rotated it a bit to prove it. "Not so much throbbing as aching, now."

Lily winced with sympathy. Then: "What are we going to tell Dumbledore?"

James ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Well, I guess we could tell him the truth – even about me being an Animagus. But he can't know about Sirius or Peter. If he gets me in trouble, I don't want them involved."

Lily nodded, but she looked troubled. "I... I could get my Head Girl badge taken away from me, you know, for sneaking out through the passage," she said. "You could, too, but you helped me, so I doubt it."

"Don't worry, Lily," assured James. "He won't take away your badge." He swung his legs over the side of the white-sheeted bed so he could more easily speak to her. "But why would you be worrying about your badge when you just nearly got bitten by a werewolf?"

Lily shrugged. "Those types of things are important to me, James," she told him.

"One of the many reasons I love you," he remarked.

Lily shifted uncomfortably. "Speaking of that..." she said quietly. "After this, I doubt I could ever feel that way about – "

"Here we are, Professor," Madam Pomfrey interrupted, stepping through the door with Professor Dumbledore in tow. "Mr. Potter won't tell _me_ what's really happened, but I suppose he might tell you."

"We'll see, Poppy," said Dumbledore, smiling slightly as Madam Pomfrey strode into her small office off the Infirmary. Dumbledore drew up a chair and sat in between James and Lily's beds. "Well, Mr. Potter and Miss Evans. Our Head Students, both in the Infirmary at once?... What's happened?"

James poured out the story to Professor Dumbledore, leaving out exactly how he had saved Lily, although he knew that the professor would ask him about it when he was done.

"I see, James," said Dumbledore, fixing James in a long stare. "And I can only imagine to what lengths you went to save Miss Evans."

James blinked in surprise. Did Dumbledore already know about him?

"As for you, Miss Evans," Dumbledore continued, turning to Lily. "For following Mr. Lupin and putting yourself in danger, which I'm sure you knew you were doing, I'll be suspending your Head Girl badge for a short amount of time. You'll still be in the Head Tower, of course, but you won't have any of your duties."

"I understand, Professor," Lily said, bowing her head.

Dumbledore stood from his chair. "Well, I'm glad that we're all in agreement here, and as soon as your friends hear about you, I'm sure they'll all be up here – using any means." There was a twitch at the side of his mouth that James took for a smile, and Dumbledore left them.

"That wasn't so bad," James remarked, first to break the short silence.

"No," agreed Lily.

"So, you were saying...?" he prompted.

Lily seemed confused for a moment before remembering. "Oh yes," she said. "I was going to say that, after tonight, I don't think I could ever feel... that way... about Remus again. I'm not prejudiced about werewolves – I understand he couldn't control himself – but, well…" She paused. "You have to trust someone to love them, right? And after this, I can't do that with Remus."

"What does that mean for me?" James asked, his heart soaring.

Lily smiled at him. "James, I don't love you yet, but I do like you. So if that's enough for you, I'll be your girlfriend," she said a little shyly.

James was suddenly standing by the side of Lily's bed, hugging her for all he was worth. "'If'? Why's there an 'if'?" James laughed over her head. "Of course it's enough for me!"

Lily laughed a little, too, caught up in James's euphoria. She wrapped her arms around his back and squeezed him gently.

James stepped back. "So, since you're my girlfriend, I get to kiss ya, right?" he asked a little pompously.

"Er, I suppose so..."

"Brilliant!" And before Lily could protest, James had cupped her cheek in his hand and pressed his lips on hers.

It was more amazing than even James had expected. There was nothing more than lips on lips; no tongue, no nothing, and yet it was the best kiss James had ever shared with someone. It was soft and quick, but it seemed to promise many, many more like and unlike it in the future.

- - - - -

Sirius, Colleen, and Peter met Filch in the trophy hall between seven-thirty and eight – around the time that James and Lily reached the Infirmary – for their detention. Filch confiscated their wands, to be returned at the end of their punishment – they had to clean the trophies the old-fashioned way.

"We should probably organize to make it easier," said Sirius.

"You're right," agreed Colleen. "I assign you to all the trophies on the top shelf."

Sirius's jaw dropped. "They're the dirtiest ones! Why can't you do it?"

"Because you are over six feet tall while I am barely over five," she replied logically.

"There's something that's called a ladder," Sirius pointed out.

"Peter's using it."

"You could borrow it."

"And slow down Peter? I think not."

Sirius growled at her. Colleen smiled back. "Ye betterrr get starrted on them trophies. They don't clean theirselves, ye ken?" she said, lapsing into an Irish accent and rolling her R's as she took up a rag and began polishing a large plaque on the bottom shelf.

"Damn Irish girl," Sirius muttered under his breath, but he started scrubbing at a trophy on the highest shelf, which was just a little over his eye level.

After working for a few minutes in silence, Colleen felt the need to break it. "I had the weirdest dream last night," she began. "Lily was pregnant with James's baby, and her only dream was to play volleyball professionally."

"What's volleyball?" asked Peter.

"A Muggle sport," said Colleen. "My little brother Riley loves it. We have a court in our backyard."

"You have a backyard? I thought you lived in a trailer park," said Sirius.

"Backyard, gravelly hole, what's the difference?" she joked.

Sirius raised his eyebrows, though he wasn't facing Colleen. "Your backyard is a gravelly hole?"

"And vice versa."

"Oh, well," said Sirius. "At least you have a backyard. My father is so paranoid that we're hardly allowed to go outside, and he's spelled our house so that the neighbors think it's been eaten by a Demiguise." He paused. "But I don't live there anymore."

"Where do you live?" asked Colleen.

"I bought a house with money my uncle Alphard left me. I guess he figured we were both outcasts of the family, and we ought to stick together," Sirius told her, scratching off a speck of dirt from the trophy he was working on.

Colleen's eyes widened. "An outcast? Did they banish you, or something?"

"Eh," said Sirius with a shrug. "My dear old mother blasted me off the family tree. It's some little spiteful thing she does to get back at the nice people in the family."

"Well, she sounds like a lovely person," said Colleen evenly. She looked over her shoulder to where Peter was, scrubbing the middle trophies. "You got anything to say, Pettigrew?" she called.

"If I don't have anything intelligent to say, I don't say anything at all," said Peter.

"Oh, so _that's_ why you're so quiet all the time!" laughed Sirius.

"I've learned from your mistakes, Padfoot," Peter shot back.

Colleen laughed. "Peter one, Sirius nothing."

Sirius shrugged and went back to cleaning, feeling a little upset at being shown up by Peter, and feeling the need to change the topic. "So, Colleen," said Sirius, "I heard from Silver that you've been talking about me in your sleep. What's that about?"

"Nothing, because you just made it up," said Colleen simply.

"Okay, so maybe I did," Sirius conceded, "but there has to be some truth in the statement."

"Well, there is none."

"So you're saying that you've never thought about me romantically?" he asked, trying to keep himself from sounded offended.

"Never," she affirmed.

"Never?" said Sirius, raising his eyebrows. "Or… always?"

"Are you deaf, Black? Well, that lowers you even more in my romantic interest standings. You've gone from 'cocky prat who's sometimes fun to banter with' to 'completely undesirable prat who's never fun to banter with'," said Colleen airily.

"Hey, I'm cocky for a reason." Sirius smiled slowly. "Wow, that sounded a bit perverted, there, huh?"

"The 'cocky for a reason' bit?" asked Colleen. "Yep, a bit funny, too. Everybody loves a good penis joke."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, most girls make up acts that are good enough to be in a circus just to get my attention. So why not you?"

"You're not attractive to me," she shrugged.

"Well, who _is_, then?"

Colleen thought for only a second before saying. "Peter is." She caught him around the shoulders with her arm, as he had been near her just as she said that.

"_Peter_?" Sirius repeated incredulously.

"Ohhh, yeah," Colleen continued. "I think he's sexy!"

"_Sexy_?!"

Peter gave Sirius an amused look. "What's the matter, Sirius? Jealous?"

"Me? Jealous of you, Peter?" Sirius looked shocked.

"No, of Colleen," he replied, pretending to be surprised that Sirius could have construed it any other way.

Colleen laughed and squeezed Peter's shoulders. "Looks like you're losing tonight, Black," she chuckled. "I definitely feel as though Peter and I are soul-mates, especially considering his tall stature and rock-hard pecs."

"O'Brian, you're mental. You've gone bloody nuts," said Sirius, shaking his head.

"What? Just because she'd rather be with a real man?" challenged Peter, puffing out his chest.

"Oh, yes," he answered sarcastically. "But you must ask yourself, would a _real_ man have _real_ breasts?"

Quicker than the eye could see, Peter scooped up a cleaning rag, curled it into a rat tail, and whipped Sirius with it as hard as he could in the crotch. Sirius doubled over and let out a small groan of pain.

"Well, Sirius, at least I can still have children," said Peter, looking down on him.

Colleen laughed. "How ironic – now _you've_ gone bloody nuts!" she laughed at Sirius. "Hey, another penis joke!"

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Haha! Well, I had fun writing that chapter. I hope you guys had fun reading it, and I hope it was worth the longer-than-normal wait. It was serious at the beginning with James and Lily, and then comical at the end with Sirius and Colleen. At least I thought it was. What about you guys?

Anyway... I'm really happy with this chapter. It was a nice change of pace to write something from Sirius and Colleen's view rather than James's. A rather refreshing chapter. Plus, a little S/C action (if you want to see it) for those of you who wanted them to get together. Oh, and let's not forget the J/L action (which you pretty much have to be blind NOT to see) for those of you (all of you) who wanted it. So anyway, until next time everybody. Review, review, review!

_8-04-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	16. Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Don't own _Harry Potter_. I'm reeeeally tired right now and don't feel like saying all the things I own...

Summary: James knows he's in love with Lily, and he's told her. Unfortunately, she likes Remus. Still, James has promised to give her his best shot and nothing less, unless she's officially Remus's girl. Meanwhile, they get closer and closer as friends, and don't the best of friends make the best of lovers? All James is waiting for is for Lily to have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Sixteen: Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff**

James woke up early on Saturday to get ready for the Quidditch match. It had been Thursday night when Lily had followed Remus – or, as James preferred to remember it, when she had agreed to be his girlfriend. He smiled happily at the memory.

Lily, because of her cold, had been forced to miss classes on Friday, which she loathed, but James agreed to pick up notes for her as long as she stayed in bed and got better. Lily still was a few points above 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, but she had convinced Madam Pomfrey to let her out to see James's game.

James had happily informed Sirius, Remus, and Peter that Lily now called him her boyfriend. They were all glad for him. James hadn't told anyone what really happened that night, not even Remus. He and Lily had agreed not to.

For some reason unknown to James, Sirius and Colleen seemed closer than ever, after their detention, though Sirius was a bit unsettled, James thought. Sirius wouldn't tell him why, though.

"So, I heard about you and Lily," said Colleen in the locker room while pulling on her gloves. "Finally together, eh?"

"Yeah," said James with a grin.

"I was always rooting for you two," she said. "I fully approve. Just don't let her distract you during the game, Cap'n. Although, I don't expect Hufflepuff will put up much of a fight."

Almost purely out of habit, James launched into his "Don't underestimate the competition" speech. "Remember, they've got a new Chaser this year, that Martinez kid. I've heard he's fast," he warned. "Watch out for Rockwell, as usual, and Diggory's always exceptional."

Colleen rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. And I suppose Cobb has been beefing himself up all year just so he can swing the Beater stick like it's a toothpick." She smiled reassuringly at him. "Calm down, James. Ravenclaw is the team we gotta watch for, remember? The badgers of Hufflepuff were never meant to fly!"

The team assembled just behind the door to the field, waiting for Sirius to begin announcing. Small butterflies fluttered in James's stomach.

"Give it up for the Gryffindor team!" they heard Sirius shout from the pitch.

James turned to smile at his teammates, before pushing the door open. They jogged out onto the field with their brooms as Sirius introduced all of them to the audience again and the onlookers cheered. James briefly scanned a Gryffindor box for Lily's red hair. He found her and waved.

"And that was Potter down there waving to his new girlfriend, Lily Evans!" Sirius said, already giving a play-by-play. "Aren't they cute, folks?"

James turned towards the announcer's box and nodded proudly, prompting Sirius to laugh.

"And here's Hufflepuff in yellow and black," said Sirius, "coming from a defeat in their last game against Ravenclaw. There's Captain and Chaser, Chris Rockwell, followed by Sam Jordan and Rodrigo Martinez, the other Chasers. Rebecca Jacobson and Matthew Cobb next, the Beaters. Angelique Lamb, the Seeker. And last but not least, Amos Diggory, the Hufflepuff Keeper!" The Hufflepuff crowd burst into applause and cheers for Diggory. He was a fifth year, and a shoo-in for Captain next year when Rockwell left Hogwarts.

"Madam Hooch steps onto the field and gives her last words to the teams," said Sirius in a hush. "Potter and Rockwell shake hands. Madam Hooch throws the Quaffle in, and – it's caught by Rodrigo Martinez of Hufflepuff!"

Hufflepuff cheered loudly.

"But Colleen O'Brian of Gryffindor is hot on his tail," Sirius announced, "as is Jake Bell of the same team."

James wasn't too worried about Martinez catching the ball. They had practiced in case of just such an event, as Martinez was said to have a Spanish racing broom in place of a British all-purpose broom. Colleen and Jake were sticking right to the plan.

Lamb, the Hufflepuff Seeker, was hovering about one hundred feet away from James. He kept her in his sight at all times, watching her out of the corner of his eye while perusing the pitch for the Golden Snitch. He found no sight of it, so he tuned Sirius back in for a moment.

" – An excellent save by Liz Hamilton of Gryffindor!" shouted Sirius. "I thought for sure that was going in. Hamilton throws it in to Bell, and the Quaffle is off again towards the Hufflepuff goal."

James smiled. Liz hardly ever failed to stop a goal from being made; she and Diggory were Hogwarts's best Keepers. In years past, they'd had several zero-score games against Hufflepuff before one Seeker caught the Snitch.

After about ten minutes, the score was twenty to ten, in favor of Gryffindor. The immense speed of Martinez's racing broom had caught Liz off-guard once, and the Quaffle had gotten through, but she had recovered her full alertness and seemed extremely suspicious of Martinez. Jake and Cady had scored the goals for Gryffindor.

"And the ball is passed to Chris Rockwell of Hufflepuff," said Sirius, "as David Gilmore sends a Bludger straight at him! Ooh, that's gotta hurt... The ball is caught by O'Brian, and that girl is off like a rocket! Look at her go!"

James still hadn't found any trace of the Snitch. He stole a glance at Lamb, but she looked just as subdued as he. A flash of light caught James's eye, but as he turned, it turned out to only be a canary yellow Hufflepuff uniform.

"And neither Potter nor Lamb has caught sight of the Snitch yet," said Sirius almost incredulously, as the game lengthened to an hour. "The score is now forty to twenty, Gryffindor in the lead and in possession of the ball."

James chanced a look down at the field, and found that Colleen had the Quaffle and was making her way towards the Hufflepuff goal, but Martinez was going to catch her before she got there, James could see. He whipped his head around as he thought he saw the Snitch, but once again it turned out to be just a glare of the sun through his glasses.

"OY!" Sirius shouted, letting out a stream of curses. "Why that cheating little sack of – "

"Mr. Black!" McGonagall exclaimed. She paused, then said under her breath: "Although I can see what you mean…"

James turned to see what had happened, and saw to his extreme upset that Martinez had knocked Colleen from her broom and sent her hurtling towards the ground. Madam Hooch called for a time-out, and the Gryffindor team gathered around Colleen.

"Can someone get Pomfrey out here?" demanded Madam Hooch.

Colleen groaned. "Ugh, not Pomfrey," she said. "Lemme stay and finish up the game – "

"You're not getting back up on that broom until you're cleared by Madam Pomfrey," said Madam Hooch.

Colleen looked to James for help, but James shook his head. "I've got to agree with Madam Hooch on this one," he told her.

"Fine, then just let me stay until the game finishes, will you?" she asked. "I'll do commentary with Sirius or something. Just don't make me go to the Infirmary before it's over."

Madam Hooch frowned but nodded. "Fine. I'll take you up to the box." She turned to James. "Potter, do you have your reserve Chaser available?"

"Yeah," said James. "He's coming now." He nodded toward the fourth-year reserve Chaser that was jogging towards them.

"Good," said Hooch. "Now take a penalty for O'Brian and then get on with the game."

Cady took the penalty and made it, and they went back to the game with a new vigor.

"And now it seems as though Colleen O'Brian, the injured Gryffindor Chaser, will be commenting on the game with me," announced Sirius happily.

"Yep," said Colleen, her voice booming throughout the pitch. "This oughta be fun."

"Oh, yeah," said Sirius with a grin. "Now, the reserve Chaser, Benjamin Bates, has the Quaffle and is heading towards the Hufflepuff goal. He passes to Bell – but it's intercepted by Sam Jordan and he takes the Quaffle all the way down the field – "

"Doo-doo-doo!" interrupted Colleen, in an imitation of the Hogwarts bells. "Staff and students, please excuse this interruption. Just a quick reminder that everyone needs to give Colleen a Galleon. Thank you."

" – And another magnificent save by Hamilton!" continued Sirius.

James shook his head tolerantly at Colleen's antics and went back to searching for the Snitch.

A flash of gold – ! James took off after it, knowing that Lamb wouldn't be far behind. The Snitch hovered near to the ground, almost in the very center of the pitch. James dove towards the Snitch, forcing Jake to make a split-second turn to keep from hitting him.

"And Potter has seen the Snitch!" Sirius announced.

"Go James!" shouted Colleen.

"What the – ?"

James's fingers had just grazed the Snitch when someone rammed into him from the side, nearly making him fall from his broom. He caught himself just in time but turned to find that Lamb had caught the Snitch in the few seconds he had been off course.

"Who hit me?" James demanded of Jake, who had come to hover near James.

"Martinez," Jake answered sourly, his expression darkening as he glared at the Hufflepuff Chaser. "It's a foul. But I don't know what they're going to do about Lamb catching the Snitch."

Madam Hooch's whistle screeched. "Hold on, hold on," she said. "Just what's going on here? Mr. Martinez?"

The Spanish boy put on his most innocent face. "Nothing, _señora. _Potter just _voló _– er, flew – in my way."

"Not from where I was standing, _señor_," answered Hooch angrily. "That's a foul, and to the other team's Seeker."

"But _Señorita _Lamb caught the Snitch," argued Martinez.

Hooch studied them for a moment. "Potter would have caught it," she said finally. "But the on the other hand, Lamb _did_ catch it. So I'll give ninety to Hufflepuff and sixty to Gryffindor."

Jake groaned. "That means we lost," he said. "One-thirty to one-twenty."

When Sirius was informed of the consequences, he had something to say. Unfortunately, none of it was appropriate for announcing on the Quidditch pitch, and Professor McGonagall dispelled the charm on Sirius's voice as soon as Madam Hooch told them the final scores. Colleen, however, did get some nice, colorful curses in. She was forced to apologize to the first years.

"Ugh, I'm gonna _kill_ Martinez," muttered Lee as he and David stalked into the locker rooms. "I can't believe Hufflepuff won after that."

"Yeah," agreed David. "Besides that, he hurt Colleen. Do you know what happened to her? Did she finally go to the Infirmary?"

James nodded. "But don't worry about it, guys," he said. "We didn't lose by that much; we're still in the running for the Quidditch Cup."

"Yeah, but this is probably our last chance, eh?" put in Jake. "After you and Colleen leave, Gryffindor is going to suck."

"Speak for yourself, Bell," Lee said indignantly.

"Well, it's true, Lee," Jake retorted. "Let's face it."

Lee glared at him for a few seconds before sighing and shaking his head. "Yeah, you're right. We're going to suck."

James got dressed and walked out, meeting Lily, Remus, and Peter outside of the locker rooms. "Where's Sirius?" he asked.

"He went with Colleen," replied Remus.

"You did great, James," said Lily, and she hesitated embarrassedly before giving him a quick hug. "You should have won, though," she said when she stepped back. "I can't believe Martinez got away with that!"

"Pulling the old foreigner trick," Peter muttered.

"Just forgive and forget," said James airily – although he was certainly not going to do either of those. "I want to see Colleen and make sure she's okay. You want to come along?"

"Sure," agreed Lily. Remus and Peter nodded in consent as well, so they headed off the Quidditch Pitch toward the Infirmary.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest**: Ach, I know that took wayy too long to get out. I'm really sorry. I have lots of excuses, er... One, I went to New Jersey and we have no computer there. Two, school has started. And three, I'm obsessed with _X-Men: Evolution_, or, more specifically, Kurt Wagner alias Nightcrawler. I know, it's really bad of me to make you guys suffer. So I'm going to try to continue this story, because I have the whole Sirius/Colleen thing mapped out and the same with Selena. So don't worry. I'll try to finish it up. I probably just won't get chapters out as quickly as I did during the summer. Please forgive me.

Er, in response to some reviews: I'm glad you guys appreciate Colleen's sentiments. To I think only one review: well, my friend on whom I based Colleen, first said, "Everybody loves a good penis joke," when we were watching Oprah of all shows at her house. I thought it was so funny that I put it up as Colleen. Since you didn't appreciate the penis jokes, you probably wouldn't like what she said when she read your review, which I also thought was funny. ; **Toshadowed.phoenix**: I'm so glad that you like Colleen! I know OCs aren't usually that great, so I'm really happy you like her. To **Gypsy Lupin-Black: **Yeah, I know. That was kinda shallow of Lily... But then again, I figure that she was pretty shaken-up by that. I also just meant that Lily wouldn't be able to love Remus because she's still a little scared of him, but she still wants to be his friend. **ToLiLyeVaNsPoTTeR2** and **Neko11**: Hehe, so you want to see more S/C stuff, eh? Well, you just might. And of course, to **Misha**: How could you think I don't love you? That's just ridiculous. You're so insane, how could someone not love you? Haha.

Okay, see you all soon (hopefully). See ya! Review, review, review!!

_8-04-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	17. Silver

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Don't own _Harry Potter_. I'm reeeeally tired right now and don't feel like saying all the things I own...

Summary: James knows he's in love with Lily, and he's told her. Unfortunately, she likes Remus. Still, James has promised to give her his best shot and nothing less, unless she's officially Remus's girl. Meanwhile, they get closer and closer as friends, and don't the best of friends make the best of lovers? All James is waiting for is for Lily to have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Seventeen: Silver**

"Ah, Miss O'Brian," said Madam Pomfrey, sniffing at Sirius and Colleen disdainfully as she opened the door to the Infirmary. "I was wondering how long it would take you to land yourself in here." She ushered them in, closing the door behind them. "What's the trouble this time?"

Colleen grinned sheepishly. "I fell off my broom. My arm hurts like a bugger." She pointed to her left arm with the other.

"You've probably broken it – _once again_," said the nurse, sighing. "Let me get the solution. Be back in a jiffy." She twittered out of the Infirmary into her storage room.

Sirius turned to eye Colleen, a brow raised inquisitively. "Just how many times have you broken a bone?"

"I've broken this arm twice already. This is the third time," she told him nonchalantly. "Once in Quidditch and once I fell out of the horseless carriage on the way here."

"I remember hearing about that," laughed Sirius.

"_I_ remember treating it," remarked Madam Pomfrey darkly, returning with the bone-healing solution.

"Oh, don't sound so surly, Poppy," Colleen chided the Mediwitch as she approached the bed.

Madam Pomfrey fixed her with a glare. " 'Madam Pomfrey' will do just fine," she said tightly.

"We're quite good chums, you know," Colleen said to Sirius confidentially as Pomfrey poured out the solution into a Styrofoam cup. "Got to know each other very intimately over the years."

"Here you are, Miss O'Brian," Pomfrey interrupted sharply. She handed her the Styrofoam cup. "And you'll need to keep quiet for a while. Get lots of rest – "

"What's that old Muggle saying?" Colleen asked. "Oh, yes. 'Surly to bed and surly to rise…' "

Pomfrey only glared at her again, looking pointedly at the liquid in the cup. "Drink."

Colleen took the foul-smelling liquid in one go. She made a disgusted noise afterwards. "I can feel the magic," she said, looking down at her arm as Pomfrey took the cup and the rest of the solution and bustled back into the back room.

"How can you drink that stuff?" Sirius asked, appalled. "I'll eat almost anything, but that's hardly qualified as edible."

"Actually, it tastes kinda like syrup."

_Knock, knock!_

Madam Pomfrey hustled over to the door and opened it. "Miss Silver! Right on time! Come in, come in."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," said Selena faintly, stepping into the room and letting Pomfrey close the door behind her. She saw Colleen and Sirius, and smiled. "Hello."

"Hey," said Colleen. Sirius waved.

"I heard about the Quidditch match," Selena said sympathetically. "I'm sorry about your loss, and your arm."

Sirius growled. "It was that bastard Martinez's fault," he grumbled.

"Watch your language, Mr. Black," ordered Madam Pomfrey. "Have a seat, Miss Silver. I'll be right with you." She disappeared into her storage room again.

"Are you all right?" Sirius asked Selena after a few seconds.

Selena nodded. "Just the usual," she said with a smile. Selena watched the door to the storage room expectantly.

Sirius tried to catch Colleen's eye to ask her what was going on, but Colleen avoided him.

"Here we are," said Madam Pomfrey, emerging from her room with a long syringe in hand. Sirius could see a thick, silvery substance inside of the shot. It reminded him a bit of mercury. Colleen shuddered at the sight of the needle.

Selena rolled up the sleeve of her left arm, balling her hand into a fist to make the vein bulge on the inside of her elbow. The long needle slid into the blue, protruding vein, and Selena sat dutifully, unflinchingly, while Madam Pomfrey pushed all of the silver out of the syringe and into Selena's arm. It was Colleen who seemed to be taking the shot. She squeezed her eyes tight and shook, her teeth chattering, until she felt it safe to open her eyes again.

"That's all, Miss Silver," said Madam Pomfrey. "Thank you for being so punctual."

"It's nothing," replied Selena politely, her voice a bit fainter. Her complexion was just noticeably paler and she seemed even more faded than usual.

Sirius blinked and turned to Colleen as Madam Pomfrey went to throw away the dirtied syringe. "What was that?" he asked, confused.

- - - - -

James, Lily, Remus, and Peter reached the Infirmary just as the others were leaving it. When Lily saw Selena, she rushed to her side. "Is there something wrong? Are you okay?" she asked, only slightly frantically.

"I'm fine, Lily," Selena assured her.

"You sure?"

"Yes," she said with a smile. "Don't worry." She turned to James and said, "I'm sorry about the Quidditch match."

James shrugged. "We'll get 'em next time," he said.

"I'm sure you will," Selena said. "I wish I could be there to see it happen."

James thought she was talking about how she wasn't allowed to watch the matches, but the look in her eye told him it was a little more serious than that. He resolved to finally ask Lily what was wrong with Selena that night.

"I'm happy to see you two spending so much time together," Selena said to Sirius and Colleen. "I was always rooting for you two to get together."

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but Colleen cut him off. "We're not together."

"Sure we are," said Sirius. "You're my girlfriend!"

Colleen laughed. "Funny," she said, "I don't remember agreeing to that."

Sirius seemed surprised. "Why wouldn't you agree to that?" he asked.

"Fine, then," she said, with a shrug. "You can be my boyfriend, if you want to so badly."

"Now wait a minute – " Sirius started.

"Admit it, Black," she said, "you've fallen head over heels for me! Nobody can resist my athletic figure and quick wit! Not to mention my flowing blond hair. La la la!" Colleen exaggeratedly flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Yeah right, as if I would like you," replied Sirius. "I'd have to lean down too far to kiss you, Shorty."

"Just look at my sexy calf muscles," continued Colleen, showing off her well-muscled calves. "Pretty nice, eh?"

"What?" asked Sirius. "I can't hear you, you're too short! The sound waves won't travel from down there to up here!"

Lily shook her head tolerantly at the two. "Really, it's amazing you two hardly ever spoke before this year," she said. She stopped as if considering something. "Although, it was rather lucky, I suppose, that two of Hogwarts' biggest troublemakers didn't meet until their final year."

"Yeah, it's bad enough James and Sirius have been friends for so long without throwing Colleen into the mix," added Remus.

"As if you should talk, Moony," snorted James. "I seem to remember a certain grindylow set on that prat prefect Lucius Malfoy in second year that was neither mine nor Sirius's fault..."

Remus nodded wistfully. "Good times," he sighed.

"Of course, _you_ weren't blamed for that." Sirius scowled. "James and I were scrubbing the dungeons for weeks after that incident."

"They were the cleanest they'd ever been, though," said James proudly.

"It's a bit irritating that Remus and Peter are never blamed for anything, though," said Sirius. "Peter at least is always a little guilty in our shenanigans."

Colleen laughed. "'Shenanigans'?" she repeated.

"Yes, shenanigans," replied Sirius indignantly. "It's a good word and it doesn't get the credit it deserves."

"But speaking of our 'shenanigans'," said James, "we haven't pulled any this year, have we?"

"No, but I can think of at least one person who deserves to be maimed by a herd of manticores," Sirius growled as Rodrigo Martinez walked by with a few of his Hufflepuff friends. "How that blighter was Sorted into _Hufflepuff_ is beyond me. _'Where they are just and loyal,'_ my arse."

James frowned. "Sirius, I don't want to get into anything with Martinez," he said. "It was foul play, I know, but I'm sure he's feeling just as bad about it as we are."

"_Hola_, Potter," began Martinez as he passed James. "_Qué juego bien, torpe. Necesitas más jugadores buenos en tu equipo_. _Y tú no eres un jefe muy bien, gringo._" He laughed as he and the rest of his friends disappeared down the hall.

"What did he say?" asked Selena.

"I don't know," Sirius grumbled, "but he sure wasn't feeling bad about the game."

"I can't believe someone could be so arrogant as to rub in so slight a victory," said Lily, surprised at Martinez's behavior.

James was quiet.

"James?" asked Lily. "Are you okay?"

After a few moments' hesitation, James said, "Martinez is in for a world of hurt."

- - - - -

Later that night, James and Lily sat up late together in the Head Tower common room, doing homework for their classes; James had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms while Lily had Potions and Arithmancy. She had already finished the rest of her homework, of course.

"What is the most efficient way to dispose of a Graphorn?" James asked Lily.

"Other than an Unforgivable Curse, I suppose it would be an Incapacitating Charm," replied Lily. "Their pelts are thick and repel most spells."

"Thanks," said James. He looked at her rather sizeable load of papers. "Erm, do you need any help with your homework?"

Lily shook her head.

"Stupid of me to ask, wasn't it? I'm not exactly a whiz at Potions, and I never took Arithmancy."

"It was a nice gesture, though," she answered with a smile.

It was quiet for a while, before Lily broke the silence. "Sirius and Colleen are quite a pair, aren't they?" she laughed.

James chuckled, nodding in agreement. "I'm really surprised they'd not found each other sooner," he said. "Kindred spirits if ever there were any."

"Yes," said Lily, smiling. She paused; then she said: "I wonder what I would have done, if someone had come up to me a year ago and told me I would be sitting here enjoying your company this way."

"You would have cried," he joked.

Lily laughed, but was cut short by someone else's voice:

"Lily? James? You awake?"

They both turned towards the voice – it was coming from the fire – and saw Colleen's head floating in the flames. She looked worried. "You are there, good!" she said.

"What is it, Colleen?" asked Lily.

"Come to the Infirmary, quick! It's Selena!"

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Hi everybody! It's been quite a while, hasn't it? I'm so, so, so sorry that I haven't been updating like a good fanfiction writer. I really have no excuse other than that I wasn't into this story very much. Hopefully writing this chapter has gotten me back into the swing of things and I'll get out chapter 18 faster. I still love all of you, don't worry! I'm rather happy with the way this chapter turned out. It has a camaraderie between the characters that I haven't really put in before. Oh, and what Martinez said means, "Hey, Potter. What a good game, clumsy. You need better players. And you're not a very good leader, gringo." I think I did it right. I take Spanish at school, but I'm never sure where to put the adjectives. Hehe... Oh, and in the last chapter, "voló" means "flew". Just so you know.

To **Lily Natalia Evans**: Wow, you changed your name? I'm so confused! **YuriIbara**: Haha, no, Colleen was joking around about people giving her a Galleon. It's just that my one friend pretended to be on the intercom at school and said, "Staff and students, please excuse this interruption. Just a quick reminder that everyone needs to give Irene a dollar. Thank you." I thought it was funny so I put it in here. **freakyfroggurl22**: Ah, one of my faithful readers... I hope you haven't given up hope for my updates! **LadyLilyPotter:** I'm glad you think Colleen and Sirius are funny, especially that you think Colleen is. I know OCs aren't good most of the time, but I hope you guys like Colleen and Selena. **Charmed: **Well you're mentioned in this chapter now! **Silver Mists**: I'm SO glad you like Colleen and Selena. Thank you! **Flexi Lexi**: Haha, yes, penis jokes. Unfortunately, there were none in this chapter. Sorry! **PrincessMila107**: Wow, I loved your review so much. It made me happy for hours. Of course, that was so long ago, I can't remember... Hopefully you'll read this chapter, too! **Misha**: Haha, you're insane. It's great. **Cindy: **Once again, I love that you think Colleen and Selena seem to belong in the HP universe. **Gypsy Lupin-Black**: Another reader who's been with me from the beginning! I hope you're still around, and haven't died or anything in the time it took me to get this out... ; **XoX-PaDfOoTeSs-XoX**: Thank you so much, and I'm glad you like Peter in my story. He was hardly in it at all in this chapter, I'm sorry. I can never think of anything good for him to do.

_8-05-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	18. Fading Away

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_, but I do own Colleen, Selena, Martinez, and a lot of other people of whom I am very proud.

Summary: James and Lily are finally together, but does Lily actually like James, or is she just going out with him for his sake? James vows to make her love him like he loves her, but he'll have to work hard to make Lily have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Eighteen: Fading Away**

James and Lily made it to the Infirmary in record time and threw open the door. Inside they found Colleen, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all gathered around one of the beds. As they approached, they could see Selena lying on the white mattress, looking paler than James had ever seen her.

"It's okay, it's okay," Selena was saying to Colleen, who looked frantic and nearly as white as she was. "It doesn't hurt, really."

"Are you sure?" asked Colleen quickly. "I could get you something. What do you want? I could read to you, or – or I could sing! 'Livin' Thing', or 'I Will Survive'?"

"Your singing might make it worse," Selena laughed faintly. "Don't worry about me, it doesn't hurt. I'm not scared."

James took a seat next to Remus, while Lily stood by Colleen, close to Selena's head. "What's the matter?" James asked Selena, his voice little more than a whisper; he felt like any more sound than that would shatter her like glass. "Why are you so sick?"

She looked at him, her gray eyes milky. "You've never known, have you?" Selena said. "Let me tell you..."

"No, Selena," said Lily, putting out a hand to stay her. "Rest. I'll tell him." She looked at James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter in turn and then began. "When Selena was little – maybe five or six years old – she contracted a deadly disease that was going around at the time, called Pureblood's Poison."

"I remember that," said Sirius, his eyebrows rising. "My uncle Ignatius got it. He died within a few weeks."

"Yes." Lily nodded. "I researched Pureblood's Poison, once I met Selena and we became friends. It's fast-killing and only affects pureblood wizards – which Selena, of course, is. It affects the immune system and the pallor of a pureblood's skin, which is why Selena is pale, almost like she's partly faded away." She cast her eyes down. "There is also no known cure for Pureblood's Poison."

"Then how is Selena still sitting here with us?" Peter inquired, quivering at the seriousness of the illness.

Lily chewed her lip nervously before continuing. "Selena was the only child in her family. Her mother, after whom she was named, died shortly after Selena was born. After that, Selena was the only reminder her father had of his beloved wife. So, when Selena was diagnosed with Pureblood's Poison, her father went to the highest extremities to keep her alive – he even committed an unholy crime to let Selena live."

Sirius inhaled sharply, suddenly understanding something. "So that silver fluid was – ?" he began.

Lily nodded grimly.

"I don't understand," said James, looking from Sirius to Lily. "What did her father do?"

"He killed a Unicorn," whispered Selena before Colleen hushed her again, telling her to rest.

James's eyes widened. "No…"

Lily nodded again. "Yes," she said. "He killed a Unicorn and extracted its blood to give to Selena to keep her alive. And he's forced her nearly every day from then on to either drink or inject the Unicorn's blood into her system so she can survive. And it's worked, though Selena has been slowly deteriorating in health. For the past few years, direct sunlight has given her searing headaches, and too much excitement causes fainting spells."

"That's why she couldn't come to any Quidditch games," Colleen explained, her nose red and sniffly.

"Damn," Sirius muttered. "You've had it rough, Selena."

Selena shrugged. "Oh, it's not so bad," she breathed. "I've had Lily and Colleen, and now you all with me. It wasn't so bad."

"So what happened tonight that made you end up here?" James asked.

"I lost my sight for a while," Selena told him. "It's happened before but not for as long as it did tonight. Everything turned white, like it does when you have heatstroke… Also, I made a decision that I've been thinking of for the past few years."

Madam Pomfrey entered the Infirmary from the back room at that point. She carried the syringe full of Unicorn blood in her hand and said grimly to Selena, "Miss Silver, I'll administer the shot now. Please roll up your sleeves."

Selena took a deep, shuddering breath and sat as straight as she could, looking Madam Pomfrey directly in the eye. "No," she said, more loudly than James had ever heard her speak.

"Selena!" exclaimed Lily and Colleen in unison.

"'No'?" repeated Madam Pomfrey.

"No," Selena said again, just as forcefully. "I don't want this to continue. It's not right."

"But Endymion will – " Madam Pomfrey began.

"My father is... He's keeping me alive only as a memory of Mother," Selena said. "Because we look the same. Because we talk the same. Because our names are the same... But we're _not_ _the same_!" She trembled and sank back down into her bed at the effort of talking so loudly. "We're just not the same," she repeated insistently.

"Selena..." Colleen murmured, grasping her friend's hand. Lily took up her other.

"It's wrong what he's been doing," Selena continued, her formerly milky eyes blazing with conviction. "I can't continue with this – the slaughter of such innocent creatures to keep a long-dead memory alive – I can't bear it!"

"But Selena..." Colleen's voice broke. "But you'll _die_, Selena..."

Selena smiled at Colleen – a real, tooth-baring grin – and said, "Thank God."

- - - - -

It was well past midnight and still they sat with Selena. Remus, who seemed the calmest of them, stiffly reclined in a wooden chair by the bedside, Peter sitting anxiously next to him. James and Sirius sat next to Lily and Colleen respectively, who clung to Selena's hands as though the girl would fade away before their very eyes. Selena herself slept fitfully, waking up at ten- or fifteen-minute intervals. Each time her eyes opened, she seemed relieved to find all of her friends sitting around her, and she drifted back off to sleep.

Near to one-thirty, Selena woke up fully and smiled faintly at them all. "I want to say goodbye to you all," she told them. "I feel like this is the last time I'll really be up to it."

Colleen bit back a sob at her words and held Selena's hand more tightly.

"First of all, to Peter," Selena said. The twitchy boy jumped at his name and stared at her wide-eyed. "I never really got to know you, which I regret now. But the few times I shared with you, I enjoyed. And I want you to look after yourself – your friends, and thereby yourself, Peter."

"T-thank you," Peter stammered.

Selena changed her gaze to Remus. "Remus... 'Moony'... I felt like I found a kindred spirit in you."

"And I you," Remus replied readily, looking desperate to help in some way but unsure how.

She giggled softly. "Those times reading late into the night in the common room, silent except for the crackling of the fire... I appreciated them. Thank you."

Remus smiled and nodded to her.

"And Sirius," Selena continued, turning to smile at him. "What a strange person. The only one I ever knew to be a match for Colleen in syrup-chugging."

Sirius laughed and scratched the back of his head humbly. "Well, you know..." he trailed off.

"James Potter," she said, moving on to James. "The bane of Lily's existence for all her years at Hogwarts till this one. I've never known my friend to be so joyful. Thank you for making her happy, and thus making me happy. You two will make it, I can tell. I hope you'll be together for a long time."

"I do, too," replied James, squeezing Lily's free hand. "I'll miss you, dance partner."

She chuckled and looked to Lily. That was when the tears began forming, gentle moisture beading at the corners of her gray eyes. "Lily, was it really six years ago that we met? It seems like only yesterday," she said. "I can still remember being sorted, catching sight of a vibrant redhead with her nose in a book that just happened to be one of my favorites."

Lily was crying freely now, and she grasped Selena's hand in both of hers. "Selena..." she whispered.

"I love you, Lily. You were – _are _– my best friend, and I hope I'll always hold some part of you, too. I love you." She bit back the tears and turned her head to Colleen.

As soon as Colleen looked into Selena's eyes, a sob ripped through her chest. She fell over Selena's hand clasped in hers, holding it against her face. "No, no. Selena, no," she sobbed.

"Colleen," Selena chided, swiping at her eyes, "you're making me cry, too..."

"I can't help it!" Colleen cried. "I don't want you to die. Please don't do this, Selena!"

"I have to do this," said Selena. "Really, Colleen, I must. It's not right, what I've been putting up with all these years."

"But I don't want you to leave me and Lily..." Colleen whispered.

Selena looked at her friend sadly. "It's something I have to do," she said firmly. "Although I do have one last request for you..."

"Anything!" Colleen nearly shouted. "I'll do anything!"

"It's not so hard, I don't think," said Selena, "but it's been on my mind for so long, now, and I can't put it out. I just want you to be with Sirius."

Colleen bit her lip and nodded, tears still streaming down her face. "I'll even go out with a clown like him, Selena," she promised.

Sirius snorted indignantly but grasped Colleen's shoulder comfortingly.

"Thanks," said Selena. She breathed deeply. "Then that's all I needed to say." She looked at them all. "I thank you, everyone. Now I want you to go back to bed, please. It's late and tomorrow you have classes."

"What are you going to do?" asked James.

"I'm going to sleep," Selena answered with a contented sigh. "I'm going to sleep for a very long time..."

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest: **Ehehehe... Been a long time, hasn't it? Well I finally updated. I hope you guys are satisfied that the cliffhanger has been concluded, and now you all know what's up with Selena. It took me a while to actually figure out what Selena's illness was... whether it was leukemia or some made-up sickness... So yeah, I decided on Pureblood's Poison. As for how emotional Colleen is in this chapter... She was very, very attached to Selena and to all of her friends. And wouldn't you be upset if your friend was dying? I would. Anyway, that's about it. And by the way I've been updating, the next chapter will be up in like a month or two. I'm a bad, bad writer... :(

Oh, in response to some reviews... To **HpLuva**: Yes, I know Martinez probably wouldn't be sorted into Hufflepuff... I just put him in there because... I'm weird. Muahaha. **Arwen**: Thanks for your review. I read the "to who it may concern," and I was like, "Crap, this sounds like a flame..." but then it wasn't! I was so relieved! I'm glad you accepted Selena and Colleen as real characters. I'm very proud of them. **Xox-PaDfOoTeSs-XoX**: I hope you didn't go crazy, although I wouldn't be surprised.

And wow, I can't respond to all of these reviews tonight... It's a school night, ya know, and I have to wake up too early tomorrow. School is evil... Well, I'll "see" you all at the next update. Bye!

_8-08-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before. Just a quick note – "Livin' Thing" is by Electric Light Orchestra and "I Will Survive" is by Gloria Gaynor._


	19. A Good Ol' Can of Whoopass

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Don't own practically anything. The only new one is the concept of Pureblood's Poison, which was apparently a good idea (most reviewers said).

Summary: James and Lily are finally together, but does Lily actually like James, or is she just going out with him for his sake? James vows to make her love him like he loves her, but he'll have to work hard to make Lily have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Nineteen: A Good Ol' Can of Whoopass**

Lily and Colleen refused to leave Selena's side that night, and James and the others would have stayed, too, but Madam Pomfrey kicked them out of the Infirmary. So James, after parting ways with the other Marauders at Gryffindor Tower, went back to the Head Tower alone, feeling very hollow inside as the sound of his footsteps echoed off the cold, stone walls. He spoke the password and halfheartedly cringed at the hideous sound the griffin's stone wings made as the entrance appeared.

The fire had long ago gone out, and the common room was freezing. James drew his robe around him and sank into the squishy, red easy chair, suddenly realizing how lonely he was without Lily sitting in the common room with him.

Lily's unfinished Potions homework still sat on the table where she'd left it. James leaned over it and studied Lily's neat, cursive handwriting. While doodles always framed James's work, Lily's was completely clean.

Suddenly a shiver ran down James's spine as he realized how quiet the Head Tower was without Lily. The thought that across the castle, a girl he'd known since first year was dying made him long for the company of friends. He quickly left the empty common room for one much more populated.

It was well past midnight, and the February air was chill. James could see his breath form in puffs in front of him. As he walked briskly to Gryffindor Tower, he reflected on Selena's condition. He had sometimes wondered about Selena – she had never seemed much for _doing_, as she said, but rather _noticing_, something that might be more valued in Ravenclaw House. In fact, she seemed to have rather much more affinity for the Ravenclaws than most Gryffindors. But James, once again, had realized that his idea of bravery – risks and sometimes foolish bravado – perhaps paled in comparison to Selena, who was at this moment facing her death with a smile of relief.

Suddenly, James heard footsteps. He looked quickly around him and realized that he had wandered far away from the Gryffindor portrait hall; he was now somewhere close to the dungeons.

_Staircase must've shifted,_ he thought, panicked. He absentmindedly clutched for his Invisibility Cloak, but realized he had forgotten that as well as his way. He prayed that the footsteps belonged to someone other than Filch and dived behind a protruding wall, hoping that whoever it was would not turn down that particular corridor.

Unfortunately for James, the owner of the footsteps only seemed to come closer. Then, to his great dismay, he heard, closely following the steps, a suspicious _meow_.

_Mrs. Norris, _James groaned inwardly. He could swear on his life that cat could smell the fear in out-of-bed students. He was just preparing to make a run for it and hope for the best, when –

"I'm doing nothing wrong, you stupid animal," snarled an oily voice that James knew all too well. "Why don't you scurry off to your Squib of a master before I hex you to within an inch of what is hopefully your ninth life?"

Mrs. Norris hissed and made a low noise in her throat, but at Snape's menacing stomp, she seemed to dash off. The footsteps continued, and James was surprised to be feeling gratitude for Severus Snape. The feeling, in fact, was so foreign and uncomfortable to him, that as Snape passed James's hiding place, he could not stop himself sneering, "What are you doing out of bed, Snivelly? Hoping to find some house pets to sacrifice?"

He was pleased to see Snape jump before whirling on James. Snape's eyes immediately took in James's position, and he raised his eyebrows appraisingly. "What are you doing hiding in the shadows, Potter? Not quite the spotlight you usually seem to enjoy," he said, his lip curling with distaste. He looked around him in mock interest. "And where is your entourage of equally attention-hungry cronies? Black finally lose the last few brain cells he had? Or did half-breed Lupin gobble up the other two?"

James fought the urge to withdraw his wand and instead said, "What, that thought still haunt you from last year? Bet you cry yourself to sleep at night. You ought to show a little more gratitude to the person who saved your life."

Snape's eyes flared at that – James realized that Snape hated the idea of being indebted to James as much as he did to Snape. "Yes, yes, very noble, saving me to ensure that you and your friends escaped with your own skins," he hissed derisively, "never mind looking the hero in front of Lily Evans, the only girl who never threw herself at your feet."

James stood a little straighter at the mention of Lily. "Well, for your own peace of mind, Snivelly," he said, "you'll be happy to hear that I've never told anyone else of the life-debt you owe me. I prefer to keep our connections to a minimum. Besides" – he looked arrogantly down his nose at Snape – "Lily's just agreed to go with me. So now that's happened, it looks like you've taken over her position as the only girl who's never thrown herself at my feet." He smirked.

Snape, however, seemed to shocked and angry for words. His black eyes blazed angrily at James before he turned on his heel and stalked off, his robes swirling around his calves.

James smiled triumphantly to himself and set off once more for Gryffindor Tower. He reached it without further incident, muttered the password to the Fat Lady, and walked in.

As soon as he entered the common room, the triumph he had felt over getting the last word with Snape evaporated. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were sitting around the dying fire in silence. Their heads jerked towards James as he entered. Sirius called out a weak, "Hello."

Sirius's normally jocular face was pale as a sheet. His blue eyes, which usually crinkled at the sides from smiling, were void and staring, the black eyebrows above knitted together. His pearly white teeth chewed his bottom lip, and his fists clenched and unclenched alternately.

Peter was twitchier than usual. His fingers would twist the hem of his robes together, then stop, as though he was trying to calm himself down. Within the minute, his hands would be back at the robes again. His breath came out in short gasps – Peter breathed through his mouth when he was particularly nervous, James had discovered.

James turned his gaze on his last present friend. At first glance, Remus seemed the calmest of them all. His milky blue eyes were half-lidded, peering out through his brown eyelashes; his hands were folded neatly on his lap; his face was completely serene. Then James noticed the littler things: the things that told him Remus was the most disturbed by Selena's decision. His eyes, though half-closed in what would seem like satisfaction, were blinking rapidly, almost every other second. Remus's knuckles were bone-white, and the tendons on his arms stood out, so tightly was he clenching his hands together. And finally, when the firelight caught on Remus's face just right, James could see the shiny streaks of tears rolling down Remus's cheeks.

James desperately wanted to say something – _anything_ – to break the deathly silence. It was slowly killing them all, the thought of what Selena was going through. James saw Remus's hand lift to cover his mouth and bow his head, his blond-brown bangs shadowing his face.

There was nothing that could be said. Nothing at all. If one word were spoken, it would be almost disrespectful to Selena's memory.

So they sat in silence for hours, Remus crying silently into his hands.

There was nothing that could be said.

After Peter and Sirius slowly drifted off to sleep on the crimson couch, James and Remus were left. The clock struck the hour, dismally tolling four bells. The last bell faded away, and the silence settled in the room even deeper than before.

"Do you..." croaked Remus, his hand over his eyes. "Do you think... she's gone now?"

"I... I don't know..." answered James quietly.

A few minutes passed in silence. Then Remus looked James in the face, his eyes bloodshot from crying, and he whispered: "I hope it's over."

Suddenly tears streamed down James's face. He nodded his head vehemently. "I do, too," he said. "I do, too." He swiped at his eyes with the back of his arm.

Remus bit his lip. "She was so brave for so long," he said. "Now that I know what she'd been going through, I'm completely in awe of her. What a..." – he rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm – "...what an amazing person."

James nodded in agreement; he could do nothing else.

- - - - -

James had apparently fallen asleep, because the next thing he heard was the tolling of the bell for breakfast. He looked groggily around him to see that Sirius and Peter were just opening their eyes, while Remus stared sullenly at the glowing embers in the fireplace, black-and-blue bags hanging faintly beneath his eyes.

The four of them plodded down to the Great Hall in silence. James couldn't remember a time when the Marauders had been so collectively quiet. McGonagall would think the apocalypse was coming, should she see them now.

James was shocked when he entered the Great Hall to find that all of the students were laughing and talking as though nothing had happened the previous night. Then he remembered that they probably did not know about Selena. His heart sank at the thought – it had affected him so deeply, yet the majority of Hogwarts' population knew nothing of last night's tragedy.

The Marauders took their seats and filled their plates. James picked listlessly at his food, his head resting on his hand.

"Hey."

James looked up and was surprised to see Lily and Colleen. They each looked exhausted – their eyes were bloodshot, their hair mussed, and their faces pale. Lily sank gratefully into the seat next to James. He took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly, sending her a sad smile.

Colleen collapsed like a broken marionette between Remus and Sirius, wiping at her wet eyes and sniffing. Sirius sat dejectedly next to her, unsure of how to comfort her.

Sirius nudged the pitcher of syrup towards Colleen. She rubbed her eyes and looked at him. He offered her a small smile. She smiled faintly back and grasped the handle of the syrup jug.

"She's dead," Lily finally said. All heads except Colleen's jerked towards her.

"When?" Remus asked.

"At about half-past three," she answered quietly. "She'd been asleep for a couple hours, and she just... drifted off. It wasn't painful for her at all."

"Yeah, it wasn't painful for her _then_," muttered Colleen into her empty plate. "Think of the eleven or twelve years she had the disease. What about the pain during _those_ years? Didn't anyone – didn't _her father_ – ever think about _that_?"

"Hey, you guys." David Gilmore stood just behind Colleen and Lily, grinning cheerfully. "D'you know where Selena is? We've got a Potions project due in a few days."

Colleen pushed herself up out of her seat and brushed past David without saying a word. David stared at her back in surprise as she hurried out of the Great Hall. "Whoa, what's wrong with her?" he asked, blinking.

"I'll go after her," volunteered Sirius, standing. He cast a look at David: half anger at his upsetting Colleen, half sympathy for not knowing what he'd gotten himself into.

Sirius sprinted out of the Great Hall after Colleen. He didn't quite know where she'd gone, but he didn't have to look far; quiet sobs alerted him to her whereabouts. She huddled behind a statue of Godric Gryffindor, her face buried in her arms.

"Colleen?" he said tentatively.

"Go away."

"Sorry. No can do." He took a seat next to her. After much consideration, he draped his arm around her shoulders. "Gilmore's a jackass," he told her. "No delicacy in that boy. None."

She rubbed at her eyes with her hand and choked out, "Not his fault. He didn't know." She sniffed and turned to look him more or less in the eye. "I can't remember the last time I cried. It was so long ago. I'd thought I was done with it. Forever. But... I guess not."

"Well... you know..." Sirius trailed off lamely. "One of your best friends...died..."

"I know. It sucks."

Sirius laughed in spite of himself. "That wasn't my point, though," he said.

"I should hope not," Colleen chuckled lightly.

Sirius smiled to see her becoming her old self. "What I was going to say is that it's fine that you cry about Selena. If I'd been close enough to her – which, unfortunately, I wasn't – I would be crying buckets now."

"You, Black?" she asked. "A big manly man like you, opening the floodgates?"

"That's me," he told her earnestly. "I'm very sensitive, really. Always talking about my feelings and where my relationships are going, if we're moving too fast, if we're moving too slow, if we're moving in reverse…" He looked her in the eyes seriously. "You know, sometimes I cry after sex."

After a moment without reaction, Colleen smiled back – a real, authentic grin through the tears. Sirius had never felt better about making a person smile.

"_¿Qué está pasando aquí?_" asked an unfortunately familiar voice. And, as no one else at Hogwarts spoke Spanish as far as Sirius knew, it could only be one slimy git: Rodrigo Martinez.

"Beat it, Martinez," Sirius snarled at him, "before I kick your arse out the window."

"Ooh, that's _terrifying_, Black," snorted Martinez, his gang of Hufflepuffs and Slytherins sniggering.

"You give Hufflepuffs a bad name," Sirius said. "Why don't you just ooze over to the Slytherin dorms where you belong?"

Martinez ignored Sirius's jibe and sneered at Colleen, who he seemed to have just noticed with sadistic glee. "What's wrong, _niña_? Crying about losing the game? _Pos, claro_." He laughed cynically. "What else would a little girl do?"

"You asshole," growled Sirius, trying to restrain himself from crushing the other boy's skull.

"What is it you Brits say? Ah, yes… 'Sticks and stones can break my bones – '" began Martinez.

"Yeah, they're not the only things," Colleen said, and to Sirius's immense astonishment, she hauled back and launched her fist at Martinez's face. It connected with a satisfying _crunch_, leaving Martinez holding his bloody nose and groaning. Clutching his face, he quickly stumbled off toward the hospital wing, his gang shooting baleful glances back at Colleen and Sirius.

Colleen cradled her hand, but she had an incredibly gratified look on her face. Upon noticing Sirius's shocked expression, she said, "It was time to open up a good ol' can of whoopass on that guy."

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Well, I'm sorry it took so long to get that out... and it's pretty short... I can't think of anything to say, so I'll respond to some reviews.

To **SammySolo**, **Cherry**, **Sallymander**, and **sillydilly101**: You guys all cried? That's so amazing. I'm really proud now. I didn't think it was a particularly sad chapter, but that's probably because I'd been planning Selena's death... Wow, that sounds kinda disturbing, doesn't it? **Starling94, Lvz2Read**, and **kleigh**: I'm glad you guys liked the Pureblood's Poison idea. That gave me severe writer's block. I finally just gave up on trying to be all scientific and made up a lot of crap about it... But it was initially going to affect the immune system... Then I just did it the way I did. **Lily Natalia Evans** and **Ancient's Daughter**: I'm glad you both liked Selena enough to be upset about her death. I worried that her character wasn't big enough... Although if she'd been bigger, I probably wouldn't have dared to kill her off. To **k**: No, I haven't personally chugged syrup, although my friend Irene has (the one on whom Colleen is based), and she's told me about it. I thought it was the kind of wacky thing that Sirius and Colleen would do, so I threw that in. **Stepha-Lah**: Yes, I think we can safely say that Selena is dead. And, last but not least, to **orligrl:** Why kill Selena, you ask? Many reasons. Selena had nothing really to do; this was her big thing. I needed Selena to do something interesting, and this was also a good way to get Sirius and Colleen together. But the main reason I killed her off is that I can't stand it when there's a story where you _know_ nothing is ever possibly going to happen to the characters. It just irks me beyond belief. Basically, Selena's death is a way of keeping you guys on your toes.

So, see y'all soon. Maybe. Buhbye! And, oh yeah, review, review, review!!

_8-12-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	20. A Little Romantic Get Together

Change of Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own most of this story. That privilege belongs to the great JK Rowling––and she's friggin' rich because of it. Which makes me wonder why she would even bother to sue little old me even if I _did_ claim to own Harry Potter. Which I don't. So don't sue me.

Summary: James and Lily are finally together, but does Lily actually like James, or is she just going out with him for his sake? James vows to make her love him like he loves her, but he'll have to work hard to make Lily have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twenty: A Little Romantic Get-Together**

A week passed, and, despite James's initial disbelief, the Marauders and Lily and Colleen had gotten on with their lives. Selena's death, which had hung over them like a cloud, had dissipated somewhat and become merely a light mist. It no longer bogged them down, and they could talk and laugh again.

Sirius sat at a small, round table in the Gryffindor common room, scribbling down some answers to the Transfiguration homework he hadn't done. Remus, Peter, and Colleen were off, having done _their_ homework already, winning money off of first years in a game of Exploding Snap. Sirius, although bitter about being stuck doing his worthless (in his opinion – he'd already mastered being an Animagus, after all) Transfigs homework, was glad to see Colleen enjoying herself when only a few days ago she'd been in the depths of despair over Selena.

Sirius himself had tried not to think much about Selena since the day Colleen had slugged Martinez (he still smirked at the memory) – unused to tragedy, it made him even more distraught than most. However, what he _had_ thought of was what Selena had asked of Colleen that night. Something about Colleen and him getting together? Had she been serious?

"Of course not," he muttered to himself. "_I'm_ Sirius. Gohoho!"

_But really,_ he continued thinking, returning to his homework, _had she been?_

Sirius reprimanded himself at that: She'd been dying. How much closer can you get to being literally _dead serious_?

Colleen hadn't taken it literally, though, had she? Nah, of course not... Although she _did_ say she'd go out with him... but she'd seemed committed to doing whatever Selena wanted. But then again, she might've just said that to ease Selena's mind.

"Argh!" exclaimed Sirius, as his ink blotted on the parchment, smearing all over his work. He crumpled up the parchment, tossed it into the fire, and started a new one. Fortunately, he knew most of the answers to the questions, and those that he didn't know, he made up, so soon he was back to where he'd messed up. Of course, by then, he'd let his thoughts drift back to where they'd been earlier. He groaned and tried to focus on his paper.

"Looking pretty serious, Sirius," said Colleen with a grin, as she took a seat across from him. Her pockets jingled with the few Knuts she'd conned off the small first years.

"Ha, ha," laughed Sirius sarcastically.

"Betcha never heard that one before," she said sheepishly.

"Not today, no," Sirius replied dryly. "Why'd you leave the steady income of conned cash?"

Colleen shrugged. "Eh, too easy. I got bored," she said. "The first years are just so gullible. I almost feel guilty taking their money."

"The operative word there being 'almost'," Sirius pointed out.

"Exactly." Colleen jingled the change in her pocket with a sly grin.

A short silence descended upon the two of them – a very rare occurrence between the two extroverts. Sirius wondered if he should bring up what had been on his mind for the past few days. It certainly had been haunting him.

"So, what're you doing?" she asked, with almost certain disinterest.

"Transfigs," Sirius answered.

Colleen leaned back in her chair, folding her hands behind her head. "Transfiguration, my arch-nemesis," she sighed. "Makes me wonder why I'm even at Hogwarts, you know."

Sirius glanced at her inquiringly, indicating that she explain herself.

"Well, you must've noticed by now, Black," she answered. "I've got the magical power of a teaspoon. Three-quarters Squib, I'm sure, 'specially when it comes to Transfigs."

"Huh," grunted Sirius, staring at his paper without really seeing it. Colleen seemed not to take that as an invitation to continue, and so there was another silence between them, one that seemed to drag on and on…

"Sirius, I've been thinking," Colleen suddenly said, "about what Selena asked of me."

Sirius started from his thoughts and blinked at Colleen. "Me, too," he admitted.

"Really? Well… what do you think?" she asked.

"Huh? Of what?" said Sirius in confusion.

Colleen chewed her bottom lip. "I was thinking that – you know – we could give it a try – just for Selena's sake," she said haltingly. "'Cause I like you fine. I just never really thought of you romantically."

"Oh, that's great. Because, you know, I can never hear _that_ enough," said Sirius wryly.

Colleen grinned. "So, what do you say, Black? Want to go for it?"

"Sure," replied Sirius, "if you think you can take a _Sirius_ relationship. Hahaha."

Colleen stared at him for a moment, and then finally said, "That was so hot."

- - - - -

"So, what're you guys planning on doing tonight?" asked Peter over dinner, popping a forkful of honey-glazed ham into his mouth.

"Well, Lily and I were thinking of spending some quality time together," said James, his arm draped around his girlfriend's shoulders.

Lily looked up from the book she'd been reading. "We were?" she asked in surprise.

"Okay, _I_ was," James admitted sheepishly.

"What about you, Moony? Got any plans?" asked Peter.

Remus nodded sadly. "I have a Muggle Studies project due soon, on the importance of the telephone." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Peter. I'll be working in the library all night."

"Well, then, looks like it's just us three," said Peter, turning to Sirius and Colleen. "Maybe we can land us another detention, eh?"

"Uhh..." Sirius glanced at Colleen and then looked back to Peter. "Actually, Pete... We _kinda_ already have plans..."

Peter blinked at the two of them. "Well, can't I come along?" he inquired innocently.

Again, Sirius said, "Uhh..." He glanced at Colleen again and shook his head. "Not really, no."

Colleen rolled her eyes behind her cup of pumpkin juice.

"Why not?" Peter continued.

It suddenly seemed to Sirius that every single person at the table – no, in the Great Hall – was staring at him. He loosened his collar and cleared his throat. "Well, um – er – you see – it's not _really_ – it's kind of – "

"Kind of a _date_," Colleen said, more loudly than Sirius thought she could have. "It's called a date, Sirius. A date. An outing. A little romantic get-together between a man and a woman."

Sirius shrugged embarrassedly, looking sideways at his other friends. "Yeah. We're going out on a date," he said to the agape Marauders and Lily.

Finally, James said, "Well, I was always rootin' for you two to get together, you know, once Lily and I did. Just one question, Sirius."

"Yeah?"

"Did anyone ever tell you about the 'love handshake'?" James said with a grin. He held up his hands; the fingers of his left hand made a circle while the forefinger of his right was extended. "You see, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they do what's called a 'love handshake' – " James started to insert his right forefinger into the circle of his left hand, but Lily grabbed them.

"No, no, no, James," she said quickly, setting his hands back into his own lap. "I think they understand." James grinned as Lily went back to her book. Then, when he was sure she was fully into her read, he mimed the "love handshake" to Sirius. Sirius flashed a thumbs-up. Colleen punched him on the shoulder.

- - - - -

"So... what do you want to do?" Sirius asked of Colleen later that night. They had decided on the common room as their "date", because they couldn't really go anywhere else; there was no Hogsmeade weekend in sight, and a chilly Hogwarts corridor was not the most romantic place. Sirius was pleased at their decision, because it made it somewhat more like a friendly meeting, but awkwardness still reigned between them.

She shrugged. "Whatever you want to do."

"I don't know what to do. That's why I asked you," he pointed out.

"Well, I don't know what to do either," Colleen said defensively.

Silence.

"Yeah, I can _so_ see why Selena wanted us to get together," said Colleen, rolling her eyes and folding her arms across her chest.

Sirius laughed. "I know," he said. "What's up with that? Like just because our personalities are _slightly_ similar, we'd be perfect for each other."

"Exactly!" agreed Colleen, nodding strongly. "I don't understand why everyone wanted us to get together. We barely even knew each other at all until this year."

"Which is a bit strange," mused Sirius, "seeing as we've been in pretty much the same classes since first year."

Colleen shrugged. "Still, assigned seating never brought us together, and in the other classes, I'd sit with Lily and Selena."

"Yeah. I'm surprised Lily and James hadn't gotten together sooner."

"Aw, they're so cute," said Colleen. "If Lily hadn't hated James from the moment she saw him, they'd be one of Hogwarts's longest couples, I bet."

"Probably," Sirius admitted. He grinned competitively at her. "If we'd gotten together, we would have outlasted them."

"Pssh, yeah!" snorted Colleen, as if it were obvious. "We could beat the pants of any other couple in longevity and passion and whatever other categories there are in couple-dom!"

"Yeah! Go S and C!" exclaimed Sirius, and he and Colleen high-fived.

"That's right," said Colleen, smiling. She sat back against the Gryffindor common room couch. "So, Black. What've you been up to these past six and a half years?"

Sirius shrugged. "Not much," he said. "Pranking people – especially Snape – and goofing off."

"Any illegal activity?" inquired Colleen innocently.

Becoming an unregistered Animagus crossed Sirius's mind, but he said, "Why? Gonna turn me in or something?"

"Depends on how much money they'd give me," replied Colleen easily.

Sirius smiled and changed the subject. "What about you, O'Brian? Where have you been all my life?" he asked huskily, putting romantic spin on the question.

"Right here, Hot Stuff," answered Colleen just as sexily, blowing a kiss Sirius's way. Seeing Sirius's smirk, she shrugged and said, "Eh... same as you, pretty much. Only Lily and Selena weren't really the pranking type, so not much of that. Not so much goofing off, either. So actually, not the same as you. I've just been playing Quidditch since second year, same time James started."

"You know, I'm not a bad Beater, myself," bragged Sirius.

Colleen raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Well, why aren't you on the team, then?"

"Oh, I could do it if I wanted to. I just don't want to," said Sirius.

Colleen's cough sounded suspiciously like a snort of cynicism.

"What? You think I couldn't do it? I could do it," he said defensively. "I could beat your head right off your shoulders if I wanted to."

"Love isn't supposed to hurt, Sirius," Colleen told him seriously. Then she snort-coughed some more.

"Oh, yes," said Sirius sarcastically, folding his arms over his chest, "this is the _best_ date _ever_."

Colleen tried to stop herself giggling and said, "I'm sorry, Sirius. I apologize, I apologize. Could you ever forgive me?"

"On one condition," he said.

"Yes?" asked Colleen.

Sirius grinned. "Do a strip tease for me!"

The next thing he knew, his face was buried between the couch cushions, and Colleen sat triumphantly on his back, pinning his arms behind him. "What now, Sirius? What now?" she cried, much to the bewilderment of the surrounding first and second years.

Sirius's voice was severely muffled by the cushions, but Colleen could still make out: "Definitely – the – best – date – EVER!"

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Hey, all. Wow, this has been my first update in a while that came within a month after the previous one. Isn't that amazing?! I was originally going to have this chapter be longer, but... I figured you guys would rather have it sooner than wait for me to have the chance to get writer's block and then not write for all eternity and never finish this story... which I promise I _WILL DO_ eventually. And now I know I had something to say that I forgot to say last time, but I can't remember it... Crapdangit!

OH WAIT! I remember now! Okay, after I finish this story, I might be writing another Harry Potter fanfic that would most likely be called _Doublemint Gum,_ and would center on Fred and George Weasley. It'd be a Fred/Hermione/George triangle, and I have something in mind for it, so it could be interesting... Anyway, if any of you are interested, after I finish this one, look for it. Tell your friends. And review it, because I'm really proud of the response I got for this story, and I'd like to repeat it... Speaking of which... I should respond so some reviews, shouldn't I?!

Alright, here we go. **Sammy Solo:** I'm glad you liked that I killed Selena off. I was worried people might be mad or upset or something about it. **Cherry:** James was thinking how lonely he felt, not just that Lily wasn't there. Kind of the aftermath of Selena's death... And Remus had black and blue bags under his eyes 1) because of Selena's death and 2) because he'd gone werewolf just a few nights before, if I remember correctly. **Silvercrystal77:** Martinez said, "What's going on here?" and "Well, of course," and he called Colleen "little girl". I'm jumping from Honors Spanish II to AP Spanish Language, so I'd better know my stuff... **Marauder23:** It's always nice to get new blood! I'm glad you like it, and that you like my OCs... As I've said before, I love it when people like people I came up with. It lets me know I'm not really that bad of a writer and, you know, can actually make up stuff without help from a woman worth more than the Queen of England. To **Star in the Sky:** Was there something between Remus and Selena? A good question... One I'll leave up to you to decide. Don't you just love me? Haha. And to everyone else who reviewed... Thank you so much! Keep reviewing; it makes me very, very happy!!

Well, until next time. May it be even sooner than this. Review, review, review! Buhbye!!

_8-15-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	21. Like I Love You?

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: Don't own; don't sue. _¿Comprende?_

Summary: James and Lily are finally together, but does Lily actually like James, or is she just going out with him for his sake? James vows to make her love him like he loves her, but he'll have to work hard to make Lily have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twenty-One: Like I Love You?**

James fell back with a sigh onto the couch in the Head Tower, purposely nearly sitting on top of Lily. Lily gently shoved him off her and kept reading her book, _The Dark Arts Outsmarted._

James eyed her dubiously. "You know, Lily," he said, "when I bought you that book, I thought it would _help_ our relationship, not destroy it."

"Yes, James," said Lily, not looking at him.

He looked at her still. "Not destroy it," he repeated.

She turned another page.

"Which it, ironically, seems to be doing a good job of," he remarked.

"Yes, James."

James was sorely tempted to snatch her book away from her, but he remembered the last time he had, and one does not lightly forget cracked glasses and a sprained pinky finger. He grimaced at the thought, but then he smiled – Lily would have _killed_ if anyone else had taken it.

James was pleased by the smallest things.

"Well, what's it about, Lily?" asked James, still trying to communicate with his girlfriend.

Lily only turned the page and continued reading.

"Lily, Lily, Liiilyyy," pleaded James. "At least read some of it to me."

"Okay, James," said Lily, finally looking him in the eye. "You want me to read to you? Here you are: 'And then Lily took out her machine gun and shot her boyfriend for interrupting her reading time, which left lots of blood and guts pouring out in a big, bloody, steaming pile. The end.'" Lily returned to her book.

"Ooh, blood and guts! Sounds like my kind of book!" James grinned goofily.

Lily smothered a smile. "You're impossible," she said, with not a hint of the frustration that would have laced the comment a few months earlier.

"I was going for 'adorable'," said James, "but close enough." He leaned over Lily's book and kissed her, as he had done so many times.

But he had not expected her to respond. Her fingers brushed his cheek, and her lips moved against his. James nearly jumped from the shock it afforded him, but he caught himself – who knew how long Lily's romantic mood would last? – and kissed her even more heartily.

When he felt Lily close her book and shove it off the couch to accommodate James more fully, he actually was briefly worried. He pulled away for a second and got out a breathless, "What are you – ?" before Lily grabbed him and gave him such a searing kiss that he forgot all worry – in fact, he was quite sure he'd forgotten his own name at that point.

As James slipped one hand around to the back of Lily's neck, he could not help but wonder what had brought on this burst of affection from Lily. Not that there had been any shortage of hugs and kisses over their time as boyfriend and girlfriend, but it was usually James who was the aggressor. Lily was much more passive in her displays of affection. Now, though… now James started at the feel of Lily's hands gripping his shoulders tightly as she held him against her.

James didn't know if he should risk it or not. The last time he'd tried, Lily had pulled away and blushed, saying she was uncomfortable and that she'd always thought it was kind of gross, French-kissing. James didn't know where Lily had gotten that idea from, but he did know he needed to change it – and now seemed as good a time as ever.

He slipped his tongue out a little and tentatively traced Lily's lips with it. He felt her take a sharp intake of breath, and he cringed inwardly, preparing himself for an abrupt end to best five minutes of his life.

But then Lily's lips parted beneath his. He could hardly believe his luck. He mentally shook his head at himself. How he had been humbled by her, to count himself lucky at making out on a couch.

But he was making out with _Lily Evans_ on a couch – and that made all the difference.

- - - - -

Remus Lupin sat in a corner of the library by himself, accompanied only by the lantern he'd brought and a small stack of books next to him on the table. Each was about Muggle culture, illustrating the incredible ability of Muggles to adapt to life without magic. It was amazing, really, what they had done; they had created things such as television, video games, and the telephone, which Remus's report was supposed to be about.

However, these books had all been ignored for the one sitting open in front of Remus. The title of this book – _Pureblood's Poison: The Epidemic and the Aftermath_.

Remus had always had a sneaking suspicion that this was the illness that plagued Selena, but he'd thought, _No. It couldn't be. It kills within a week, and she's been at Hogwarts for seven years._

He'd been so stupid.

Remus and Selena never had a romance; they were the watchers, not the doers. But they'd understood each other better than anyone else in the world. They'd connected on so many levels. Remus had felt like he'd found his other half, or at least his soul-mate.

And he'd lost her so quickly.

All the nights of staying up late, just talking or sitting in silence – some of his best memories were, oddly, of not talking with Selena. There was something just so amiable about silence between them. He couldn't describe it.

But he remembered it… oh, how he remembered it… and it tore him apart, from the inside out.

Remus had never told Selena about his disease, and she'd never told him about hers. They had never spoken about such things. It was just another point on which they connected. It brought them even closer.

And watching James and Lily, and Sirius and Colleen – they'd talked about them often enough. Both had known nearly from the start that James and Lily were destined for each other – they were so completely different, one such the perfect complement to the other. But Sirius and Colleen – they were so similar and so excruciatingly perfect for one another. Selena had been more convinced of it than Remus; she had insisted over and over that they would be happier than either had ever been if they fell in love. He shook his head in memory of her last request of Colleen. Of course Selena would use any opportunity to get them together.

Remus regretted so many things in life. Wandering stupidly in the forest surrounding the Lupins' cabin so many years ago and being bitten by Fenrir Greyback was one of them. Coming close to attacking Severus Snape – however loathsome he was – the previous year was another. But he found himself regretting most that he did not tell Selena all the things he now wished he could have. One thing in particular – and even now he wasn't sure as to exactly what he would have meant, had he said it. But he knew he should have told Selena, "I love you."

- - - - -

James's skin was on fire – or at least that was what it felt like. Lily scalded him with the slightest brush of her fingertips, and what she was doing was hardly slightly brushing with her fingertips. Somehow the tie around his collar had been loosed, and the top three buttons of his crisp, white shirt had magically come undone. Lily's hands worked blindly on the fourth button.

She still kissed James with wild abandon. His one hand was tangled in her hair, while the other gripped her waist as he tried not to crush her beneath his weight. He'd long ago given up worrying about scaring her – she seemed quite fearless tonight – and he kissed her with every ounce of passion he had.

But her work on the buttons of his shirt worried him a bit. He really didn't want to stop this, but going too far was not exactly the best idea at this point. He broke away from her briefly, looking her in the eyes – oh, those eyes – as he took her hands from his shirt and set them away. "Lily, I don't really think now's the best – " he began.

"I know, I know," she said impatiently, throwing her arms around his neck. She brought him back down to her and kissed him again.

To say James was relieved was an understatement. He'd been afraid Lily would never do anything like this again with him, afraid that she'd be too embarrassed or disgusted by the thought of them _being together_ _like that_. Although he fully intended that to happen – _eventually_. Just not tonight.

Suddenly he realized he had to tell her something. He'd been thinking about it since that night at the Yule Ball – the night he'd realized it. He broke away for the last time from Lily. She opened her beautiful eyes and looked at him, puzzled. Her hair was mussed, and her face was flushed pink with exhilaration or something like it. She'd never looked more radiant in James's eyes.

"Lily," he breathed heavily.

She swallowed and blinked at him expectantly. "Yes, James?" she asked, breathless.

"Lily, I love you," James confessed.

He felt her muscles tense beneath him on the couch. Her green eyes widened.

"Y-You love me?" she echoed. "_Love_?"

"Yes!" James said with a smile. It was such an exalting feeling to say those words to her. It felt so right, so incredible, so –

"James, you can't love me."

James's heart plummeted through the floor. "What?" he asked.

"You can't possibly love me," she said, not meeting his gaze. "We're too young. It's impossible." She shook her head. "What you feel for me is lust or infatuation or something, James. Not love."

James frowned. He was surprised that a witch as intelligent as Lily could be so mistaken. "Lily, I'm not stupid," he said carefully. "I'm not some player who just says that to girls. I'm not... I'm not _Sirius_, for crying out loud!" His voice had taken a careening note at that. He took a deep, shuddering breath and said, in a more even voice, "I know what I feel. I love you. I'm in love with you, Lily, and I always will be."

Lily's emerald eyes brimmed with shimmering tears. "James..." she murmured.

With some difficulty, James flipped the two of them around so Lily rested on top of his chest. His arms encircled her, hugging her to him. "Don't cry, Lily," he whispered into her hair. "I love you. Don't cry. I can't stand it."

Lily sniffed into his shoulder.

They lay there for some time before Lily stopped crying. James stroked her hair comfortingly.

Finally, James asked the question he'd been burning to ask. "Lily... Lily, do you love me?"

There was a short silence, before Lily muttered something into his shoulder.

"What? I didn't hear you," said James.

Lily raised her tear-streaked face from James's chest and looked him in the eye. "I said," she told him, between sniffs, "I don't love you." And then she broke down in a sob, clutching James for all she was worth.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Wait, wait, wait! Before you tar and feather me, let me just tell you that I'm out of school and can write much more now, so you won't have to wait much longer for the next chapter. Also, in the next chapter, Lily's answer will be discussed further. Please don't murder me!! Oh, and before you all ask why the crap I made Lily say that... I don't know. I like to read things where Lily kind of breaks James's heart. I know that sounds very cruel of me, but believe me, there will be a "happily ever after" for them, until, you know... Voldemort kills 'em. Now for some reviews!!!

To **Cherry:** Exploding Snap... yes, a great mystery. I'm not quite sure myself, which is why I didn't try to describe the game. I just assumed that it's something you can win money off of. Also, yes, I saw the new _Harry Potter_ movie yesterday. It sucked. I was very disappointed. The third book was my favorite and they just butchered it, or at least the part at the end in the Shrieking Shack. And finally, no I'm not Japanese, although that would be cool... I do know a lot of Japanese, though, of which I'm very proud. **Frozen in Motion:** Lily's taking Muggle Studies for the same reason Hermione does: she finds it interesting to see the Muggle world from the Wizarding point of view. **SexxyPadfootMoonyProngs** and **BrainiacGirl:** Well, here's your James/Lily romance. I had been thinking the same thing, actually. **Sum1strange:** Haha, yes. I'm writing that story just for you. Well, "eventually" means when I finish _Change of Heart_ and get about four chapters into _Doublemint Gum_, which could take a while. Just keep reviewing this one, and I'll have the motivation to write the next one. XD **orligirl:** You always ask good questions! This chapter actually takes place on my birthday: February 21st. And to **spotted kitten, rockersbb13, Stepha-Lah, DracozFallenAngel, Sammy Solo, Silvercrystal77, vamperfly, jaderadcliffe,** and everyone else: thank you for reviewing and saying you loved it. It really means a lot to me, you guys.

So, anyway... I'll see you at the next installment, which should be relatively soon. And I hoped you all liked the little bit of Remus, because there's gonna be more of him next chapter, or that's what I've planned. Buhbye and review, review, review!!

_8-16-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	22. Mystery Man

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break**  
**

Disclaimer: Argh, do I have to do these _all _the time?? Grrr... You'd think twenty times would be enough, but noooo. I still don't own _Harry Potter_. Believe me. I'm not lying.

Summary: James and Lily are finally together, but does Lily actually like James, or is she just going out with him for his sake? James vows to make her love him like he loves her, but he'll have to work hard to make Lily have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Mystery Man**

"_I don't love you."_

The words echoed cruelly in James's head. _She doesn't love me. She doesn't love me. She doesn't love me_.

James was silent. Lily, ironically, was the one sobbing; James's shirt was soaked where her head lay. He stroked her back dazedly, trying to comfort her. It did not even occur to him that _he_ was the one who needed to be comforted. Lily had just rejected him.

_Well, not exactly_, James's more practical side argued. _She _is_ your girlfriend. She just doesn't love you like you love her._

_Oh, shut up, you prick_, James growled inwardly. _Can't you see I'm beyond reason? _He traced circles on Lily's back as her shoulders heaved with sobs.

It took him a few minutes to realize that Lily had been whispering things into the crook of his neck all that time. He tried to hear what she was saying, but it was rather muffled. "… sorry… I'm just not sure… I'm so sorry… I really like you, James, I just… sorry..." she cried into his neck.

"Wait, what?" asked James, snapping out of his slight daze. "What did you just say?"

Lily raised her head and looked James in the face, her nose red, her hair mussed, her eyes bleary from crying. "I said that I'm sorry, that I really like you a lot, but I'm not sure if it's _love_. Because, well, we're really young, James! I don't understand how you can be so sure of your feelings for me. It's probably just, you know" – she flushed – "_lust_. We _are_ teenagers, after all."

"Look, Lily," James said seriously, propping himself up on his elbows and looking her deep in her startlingly green eyes. "I know you may not be comfortable with the idea that I love you, but I do know for a fact that it's _not __just lust_. I mean, yeah, lust is part of it" – he grinned in spite of the situation – "I won't lie to you. The past half hour or so was pretty... _steamy_..." At Lily's satisfactory blush, James continued, "But that wasn't what made me say it! Believe me, if it were lust and I only wanted to get you in my bed, you'd already be in that room, screaming my name for all it's worth."

"Nice, James," Lily muttered, still bright scarlet.

"What? I'm just telling the truth." James smirked. "But seriously, Lily. I love you. I have for a long time." He brushed some of her hair away from her cheek. "I just haven't wanted to admit it to myself."

Lily looked like she was about to cry again, so James smiled reassuringly and said, "So you really like me a lot, huh?"

She beamed back at him, though her eyes shone with tears. "Yup," she affirmed, nodding once.

"Well, that's halfway there, isn't it? More than halfway," James said optimistically. "In fact, you're almost to the finish line! And if you win, you get the _best_ prize."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" asked Lily.

"The one and only James Potter!"

Lily laughed. Then a wistful look appeared on her face. "When Selena was still alive," she said thoughtfully, with a new, different sadness, "she once told me that you were a vibrant and passionate person, with more sophistication than you would have people know and with a bigger heart than anyone _could_." Lily smiled. "I think that's you in a nutshell."

"Yes, and a rather small one, at that," joked James. "I'd like to think I'm a bit less transparent!"

"Well, you're not exactly _mysterious_, James."

"Oh, I'm mysterious," James assured her.

"You are, huh?" Lily said with an ill-hidden grin.

"Oh, yeah," said James. "I'm the most mysterious person you'll ever meet. I'm an effing _mystery_, I'm so mysterious. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I'm as mysterious as… Mystery… Man!"

Lily laughed so hard she had to clutch her aching sides. "Oh... Oh my goodness, James..." James watched her giggle with a pleased smile on his face. Because, he realized, as funny as Colleen was, and as hilarious as Sirius could be, Lily only laughed that hard at him, James David Potter, and that was enough for him.

- - - - -

February finally passed, the shortest month of the year taking the longest time to end, and the Marauders, Lily, and Colleen were flung head first into March. James and Lily, despite the night in the common room, or perhaps because of it, were closer than they had ever been – Peter once remarked grimly that Lily would have to have James surgically removed if she ever wanted to be alone.

Sirius and Colleen also had a more cemented relationship than previously, although nothing like James and Lily's. Theirs was much more passionate and fiery. Once James and Peter had been unwilling witnesses to a small tiff between the two of them, which had escalated quickly and ended with Sirius grabbing Colleen and snogging her senseless. "Merlin, you pervs," Peter had muttered, "get a freaking _room_."

Remus was quieter nowadays, since Selena's death. It had affected them all, really, especially Lily and Colleen, but Remus dwelled on it longer than the rest of them. James was not sure why this was. He knew Lily was still very delicate about Selena's death, but she preferred to remember the good things that had happened rather than the actual night of the incident. Remus might just be reliving the tragedy of Selena's death over and over, but James didn't really think of Remus as a wallowing type of guy. So James was left in bafflement as to Remus's recluse.

The person James worried most about was Peter. James had been noticing more and more that Peter felt slighted by the other Marauders, what with James and Sirius having girlfriends and Remus's sudden withdrawal from conversation. The mousy boy had been grouchy and easily irritated, especially by displays of affection of the two couples. James and Sirius had discussed Peter's aggravation, and they tried to include him in anything they could, but he still was upset when James left to walk Lily to her next class, or Sirius opted to spend time with Colleen rather than play a game of chess against Peter.

Such was the situation when Dumbledore sent a house-elf to the Gryffindor table at dinner with a message for Lily and Colleen.

"What's it say?" asked Sirius as Lily broke the seal on the piece of folded parchment.

Her eyes quickly scanned the paper, and then she handed it to Colleen. "It says Dumbledore desires our presence in his office. There is a visitor concerning Selena who wants to speak to us," said Lily.

Colleen shot Lily a glance. "I'll bet you anything it's Endymion."

"That's a bet only a fool would take," Lily muttered, taking the letter back. She turned to the anxious house-elf and said, "Tell Headmaster Dumbledore that we'll be up after we finish eating."

"Thank you, missus," squeaked the house-elf, and he disappeared.

"Who's Endymion?" asked Sirius of the two girls, who suddenly seemed to have no appetite.

"Selena's dear old daddy," Colleen muttered, her chin resting in her hand. Remus looked up from his plate for the first time that night.

"Is there something wrong with his being here?" James inquired, noting Remus's sudden interest.

Lily sighed. "Not really," she said. "He's a nice enough guy. But he _is_ the one who made Selena take the unicorn's blood for all those years."

"Yeah," said Colleen, spearing a sausage with her fork, "just because he missed his wife, who Selena was supposedly the spitting image of."

"So you can understand that we're a bit hesitant to speak to him," Lily told James. She sighed. "Selena's death was horrible enough without having to speak to her father about it."

"Do you want us to come along with you?" James asked. Sirius nodded to show his support.

Colleen shook her head. "Nah," she said. "We know how to handle Endymion. Besides, Dumbledore only asked Lily and me there." She pushed her food around on her plate idly and then finally pushed her plate away. "I can't eat anymore of this, Lily. Let's just go." The two girls stood, said goodbye to the Marauders, and left the Great Hall.

Sirius watched them go. "Well, they weren't particularly excited, were they?"

Suddenly Remus stood from the table. The other boys looked up at him inquiringly. "I'm going to go finish up my project," Remus said vaguely, and he quickly left the other Marauders.

"But he didn't even take his book bag," Peter observed.

James suspiciously watched Remus's back until he disappeared from sight.

- - - - -

Lily and Colleen walked in silence to Dumbledore's office. Finally they reached the stone gargoyle and stood there for a few seconds at a complete loss. Neither knew the password to the Headmaster's office.

"Er..." Colleen trailed off before the gargoyle. "Professor Dumbledore asked us here..."

The gargoyle glared back at the girls, motionless.

"Well, this – " Colleen began, turning back to Lily. Suddenly the gargoyle came to life and ambled to the side, revealing a door. Colleen blinked. "Well," she said. "Never mind."

"Thank you, Mr. Gargoyle," said Lily as she and Colleen passed it and stepped on the rising staircase.

"Interesting password, isn't it?" muttered Colleen over her shoulder. " 'Well, this.' What will Dumbledore think of next?"

Neither of the girls had previously been in the office, so its cluttered state surprised them. Lily had expected it to be much more organized, as Dumbledore was such a genius. The room was completely full to the brim with books, and Lily was just itching to open one, but the sight of Endymion Silver stopped her.

Endymion was a tall man who had once been very handsome, with his thick auburn hair and sharp blue eyes. Now, though, with his eyes bloodshot and his face haggard, he seemed much older than his mere forty years of age. Endymion was strict; he had served in the army as a young wizard and still believed in those ideals – at the sight of him, the story rushed back to Lily. Upon meeting his wife, however, Endymion had softened – Selena's mother was the only person who could do that to him – and he had loved her on sight. They were married within the year, Selena on the way a few months after the marriage. But after Selena's birth, she had gotten progressively weaker and had finally wasted away, leaving Endymion a destroyed man. So he grasped Selena tightly to him. Her diagnosis of Pureblood's Poison was nearly the final straw for the man, and Lily could almost – _almost_ – understand why he'd done it, although she had never liked the knowledge.

Lily had always been a bit afraid of him, but now, looking at the poor, devastated man, she felt only sympathy.

"Lily. Colleen." Endymion smiled weakly at them.

"Hello, Mr. Silver, sir," said Colleen with a glance at Lily. The both of them had always been very respectful towards him; he'd practically commanded it. Now, however, he seemed to need support more than anything.

Dumbledore stepped forward from behind his desk and gave Lily and Colleen a benign smile. "Ah, Ms. Evans, Ms. O'Brian, you've found your way here," he observed.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore," Lily and Colleen chorused.

"Well, I suppose I ought to leave you three alone," said Dumbledore easily, picking up a rather large tome and nodding goodbye to Lily, Colleen, and Endymion.

Upon the shutting of the door, an ear-shattering silence descended upon the room. Lily shifted her weight from one foot to the other anxiously, looking anywhere but at Endymion.

Finally, the man sighed and sank back into one of Dumbledore's chairs. He covered his face with his hand and muttered, "Were you two there when she – ?"

Lily and Colleen exchanged glances, and Lily said hesitantly, "Yes, sir, we were."

He chuckled a little. "Oh, it's okay, Lily. No need to be formal with me anymore." He exhaled. "I don't need a subordinate; I need a friend."

Lily's heart went out to him at that sentence. He looked so miserable sitting in the armchair, his face covered by his hand.

"So you were there," he said. "Did she say anything? Anything at all?"

"She said several things," Lily answered. "She told us each separate things meant for us. She said... she said what you had done was wrong. Keeping her alive by killing all those unicorns. She said it was wrong." Lily cringed a little at how Endymion might take it.

But the man only nodded sadly. "Yes, I know now it was wrong," he said quietly. "But I had lost her mother so early. Selena was like another chance, she was _just_ like her. You must understand, they were so similar – "

"But Selena was Selena!" Colleen burst out. "She wasn't her mother. They _weren't_ the same person!" She quieted, staring at her shoes. "I'm sorry, sir."

"No, no, Colleen," Endymion reassured her, laughing a little to himself. Lily realized that laughter was the only thing that was keeping him sane. "It's fine, really. I know Selena was her own person. I regret not realizing it sooner..."

Lily looked sadly at the man. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Silver," she told him. "I don't know what to say."

He looked up at her. Unshed tears glistened in his eyes. "You don't have to say anything, Lily," he answered, his voice cracking. "Just knowing you and Colleen are here is enough for me."

- - - - -

"Why, Mr. Lupin," said Dumbledore pleasantly as he closed his office door behind him. "Is there something you needed?"

"No, sir," answered Remus, startled and, for once, looking very much like the little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"I'm sure Ms. Evans and Ms. O'Brian will be out soon," said Dumbledore. "Why don't you go back to the Great Hall and finish your dinner?"

Remus took a breath and tried to gather up some courage. "Actually, Professor," he said, "I was hoping to speak to Selena's father."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled knowingly, and Remus suspected the Headmaster had known all along that was what Remus wanted. "Well, Mr. Lupin," he said, "he will be leaving in his carriage directly after speaking to your two friends. Why don't you go and await him there?"

"Th-thank you, Headmaster!" stuttered Remus.

"Not a problem, Remus," replied Dumbledore with a small smile.

As Remus hurried down the corridor, he thought to himself that there was no better man in the world than Albus Dumbledore.

- - - - -

Remus did not have long to wait before he caught sight of a tall, tired man trudging across the Hogwarts grounds. He was not what Remus had expected in Selena's father, but he knew on sight that it was he.

The man approached the carriage at which Remus stood, only giving the boy one weary look before speaking to his driver. Remus realized he would have to initiate the conversation.

"Um, excuse me, sir," he said.

The man looked at Remus as though he wished he hadn't spoken to him. Remus recognized the look as one he'd given several people recently.

"Sorry, sir, but you're Selena's father, aren't you?"

The man's eyes brightened faintly at the mention of his daughter's name. "Yes. Yes, I am," he said. "My name is Endymion Silver. And you?"

"I'm Remus Lupin," Remus told him. "I was Selena's... good friend..."

Endymion studied Remus with more interest than before. "I've never seen you before," he said. He paused. "But you seem nearly as pained as I am."

"I'm so sorry," Remus blurted out. He had had so many things he'd wanted to say to Endymion, but now he could think of nothing. He finally decided that the man would want him to tell him anything about his daughter. "I just became friends with Selena this year," he spoke, not quite sure of where he was going. "I'm glad I did. She was an amazing person." He could tell Endymion was listening to him raptly. "She and I would sometimes stay up late in the Gryffindor common room, reading or talking… Those are some of my favorite memories."

Endymion watched Remus speak with a near-smile on his face. When it seemed that Remus was finished, he said, "Thank you, Remus. I appreciate your telling me this. It makes it so much easier to talk to her friends." He opened the door to the carriage and climbed inside. "Goodbye, Remus. It was nice to meet you," he said out the window.

Then the driver pulled the carriage away from Remus, the clip-clop of the horses' hooves sounding against the cobblestones. Remus felt as though he'd passed up an opportunity he would never get again. Suddenly he started running towards the carriage. "Mr. Silver!" he shouted. "Mr. Silver!"

The man stuck his head out of the window once more and looked at Remus. "Yes, Remus?"

"I loved Selena!" Remus cried, the words nearly exploding forth from his lips.

Endymion smiled at Remus and said, "And I'm sure she loved you, too."

- - - - - - - - -

_Dedicated to Max Sadler and Mark Tiner, may they both rest in peace._

**Tempest**: Well, I hope that left you guys feeling rather warm and fuzzy on the inside. Or puzzled. Or _something_. As long as it seemed a bit profound, it's fine with me. Now, what did this mean? Did it mean that Remus was _in_ love with Selena, or that he merely cared greatly about her? This is a question I shall never answer you, as that was the closure of Selena's plot. I hope you guys liked it. I felt the need to write something continuing her story, as two boys from my school, Max Sadler and Mark Tiner, died in a car crash on Memorial Day weekend, and it completely stunned the entire school—nay, the town. Anyway, I'll quickly answer some reviews and then scamper off to bed.

I got lots of reviews since posting the last chapter! I've gotten over 700! Thanks you guys! **Sum1strange**: Haha, thanks for the motivation. I'll get right on the next story, after I finish this one. To **Cherry**: Nope, not Asian at all. I'm actually Polish/German/Irish. I just have a strange connection with Japanese stuff. I love it! **Mortari**: I'm glad you won't kill me! **Ruth3**, **natalieb, **and **Niux: **Glad you guys liked that I didn't have Lily say she loved James—they'd only been going out for a week, after all! And **Individual-9086:** About my Spanish... Well, seeing as it's _not_ my native language, I'm not quite sure how I'm coming off, but whatever...

_8-16-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	23. Such A Way With Words

**Change of Heart**  
By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The only new thing that I own is Endymion Silver… He was kinda cool.

Summary: James and Lily are finally together, but does Lily actually like James, or is she just going out with him for his sake? James vows to make her love him like he loves her, but he'll have to work hard to make Lily have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Such A Way With Words**

March passed in a flurry of activity. It was that strange time of the school year during which teachers insist on piling on the homework. James and the others were swamped with Defense Against the Dark Arts reports, History of Magic essays, Transfiguration assignments, and Charms projects. And spending time with Lily was completely out of the question, because she had nearly twice the number of classes as James. Whenever James felt overwhelmed with the amount of work he had, he would glance over at Lily across the common room, find her nearly buried in books and papers, and suddenly be much humbled. After all, why should he complain when Lily did all her work without whining?

"My birthday is tomorrow!" Colleen announced happily at breakfast one morning.

Sirius nearly spat out his pumpkin juice, but instead he settled for letting it dribble down his chin as he stared at Colleen in horror and disbelief. "What?" he cried. "_Tomorrow_?"

"Yep," answered Colleen with a grin. "I'll be eighteen."

"And you couldn't tell me this sooner?" he demanded.

Colleen seemed surprised at him. "Well, what's the matter, Sirius?" she asked innocently. "I was just telling you all that tomorrow is the day marking that I haven't died for eighteen years! Isn't that a cheerful thing to celebrate?"

"Yes, yes it is," said Sirius dryly. "Especially when you're the birthday girl's boyfriend who hasn't even been told, much less had time to prepare a gift for the girl in question!"

"Oh, calm down, Sirius," she chided. "It's not that big a deal. I was just hoping for a quaint little celebration with only my closest gazillion friends."

Although Sirius fell silent at the time, James had to deal with him fretting during their free period as everyone else had Potions.

"Oh, what am I going to _do_?" Sirius moaned as they sat in the Gryffindor common room, attempting vainly to finish up their Transfiguration project. "I have to get her _something_. Otherwise I'll just be kicking myself for the rest of my life."

James raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "For not getting your girlfriend in Hogwarts a birthday present?"

"Yes, Prongs, that's right," Sirius snapped. "You know, for a best friend you aren't too supportive of this. You'd think for a fellow BF, you'd be more understanding."

"Does that 'BF' stand for '_best_ friend' or '_boy_friend'?" inquired James good-naturedly.

"It stands for 'bloody fathead'," retorted Sirius flippantly. "Now you wanna help me figure out a present for Colleen?"

James smothered a grin – he didn't expect Sirius would find anything too amusing at the moment, distressed as he was – and asked innocently, "What kind of gift do you think she would like?"

"That's just it!" Sirius wailed pitifully. "I don't _know_!"

"How could you not know?" James gaped at his friend. "She's you in girl form!"

"Oh, there's a lot more to her than _that_," protested Sirius. "She's bright and funny and a magnificent Quidditch player and…"

James rolled his eyes. "Save it for the card, Padfoot. And aren't you supposed to be stressing over her birthday present?"

"Gee, James," said Sirius in a tone dripping with sarcasm. "I'm so _glad_ I have _you_ as a friend to remind me when I need to completely freak out. What_ever_ would I do without you?"

"Just hope you'll never have to find out," said James with a wry grin.

"I'll add it to my nightly prayer," replied Sirius sardonically. He seemed to suddenly remember the task at hand. "Please, James. I need your romantic expertise. What do girls like to get for presents?"

James said thoughtfully, "Well, with Lily, I always get her books. That's really the only thing I know she'll love. Besides, I haven't had the chance to buy her anything as her official boyfriend." He smiled apologetically at Sirius. "But I don't really think Colleen's the bookish type."

Sirius groaned. "Well, you're a big help," he said. "I guess I'll just have to, I don't know… get her chocolates or flowers or some soddy thing like that." He looked so downtrodden that James felt a bit of compassion for his normally so upbeat friend.

"Look, Padfoot," said James, resting his hand on Sirius's shoulder. "After History of Magic, we'll take the Invisibility Cloak, head out of the school through the secret entrance to Hogsmeade, and get her something nice, all right? Does that make you feel any calmer?"

Sirius nodded and let out a shaky sigh of relief. "Thanks, James. You're a pal."

"Yeah, I know."

- - - - -

Directly after History of Magic, James and Sirius huddled together under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak by the statue of the one-eyed witch. James tapped the statue with his wand and hissed, "_Dissendium_," and the familiar dark tunnel to Honeydukes revealed itself. The two friends hurried into it, Sirius muttering the counter-spell to close the statue behind them.

The two friends pushed aside the loose stone from the Honeydukes cellar with practiced ease and slipped up the stairs. In the corner by the Toothflossing Stringmints they removed the Invisibility Cloak without fear of being seen; those candies were not the most popular.

"Now, what to get Colleen…" muttered Sirius to himself.

"I thought you were gonna get her some chocolates," James said, examining the nearby Acid Pops with apprehension.

"But chocolates are such a generic present. I want to get her something special," replied Sirius, picking up a licorice wand and eventually discarding it.

"Ah, yes," said James. "You want to get her something that relays your feelings for her, such as, 'Whoa, you are just like me,' or, 'Man, I want to snog you inappropriately in front of my friends right now.'"

Sirius made a rude gesture that James recognized as warning to shut up and help him look. James watched Sirius turn down boxes of Chocoballs, pouches of Fizzing Whizbees, packs of differently-flavored Droobles Best-Blowing Bubble Gum, and every other item Honeydukes carried.

Finally Sirius sighed. "For the first time in my life, Honeydukes has let me down," he said sadly, and he and James left the store empty-handed.

"What about Zonko's?" suggested James as they stood at a loss in the center of Hogsmeade.

"But those are all jokes!" Sirius said. "It's her birthday, and the first time I've had an opportunity to give her a gift as her boyfriend. She's been so great for the past couple months… and the whole thing with Selena…" This was followed by a short silence before Sirius shook his head to clear the sad thoughts. "I need to get her something _really_ good."

"Well," said James, "what did you get Lela Lyndall when you were going out with her?"

"Oh, she didn't have a birthday while we were going out," Sirius replied offhandedly.

"For two years?"

"Yes, that's right," he said defensively. "She was – er – born on Leap Year Day." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "But can we please focus on _now_? Besides, Lela and Colleen have absolutely nothing in common."

"They're both blonde," James pointed out, but inwardly he accepted that Sirius was right. Sirius's girlfriend from the beginning of third year to the end of fourth year, Lela Lyndall, had been a tall, blonde Hufflepuff, extremely curvaceous for having been only thirteen. Lela had been of the persuasion that it was unfashionable for a girl to have any personality of her own, and she had never contributed to the conversation amongst the Marauders except to giggle or say something astoundingly brainless. Listening to her talk, James had thought he could feel his I.Q. leaking out of his ear.

"That's as far as it goes," Sirius said. "Lela was gigglier, flirtier, and dumber than a giggly, flirty, dumb stick!"

"Padfoot, my friend," said James, shaking his head, "you have such a way with words."

James and Sirius returned to Hogwarts about an hour after dinner had finished. Sirius had finally found a somewhat satisfying birthday present for Colleen, even though he hadn't been really pleased with it. James and Sirius parted ways in the corridor connecting the Head Tower with the rest of the castle, and James strolled the rest of the way to his and Lily's common room, the Invisibility Cloak folded carefully and concealed beneath his robes.

He entered the common room to find a familiar sight: Lily practically swimming in books and papers. She smiled wearily at him and received a quick kiss before continuing with her homework.

"Where did you and Sirius go off to?" she inquired as she copied onto her paper the medicinal properties of fire seeds.

"He wanted to get something for Colleen's birthday," answered James, sinking back into the scarlet couch. "Her announcement today was kind of out of the blue."

"Ah, yes," said Lily. "Not to Colleen, though. She does that every year, and she's always convinced the way she presents the information is perfectly acceptable. I finally began marking her birthday on my calendar so I couldn't forget."

"Does she really expect us to throw her a party with a gazillion people?" asked James.

Lily waved it off. "Don't worry, I've already got it covered," she said. "I organized it during dinner while you guys were off. It's tomorrow night after dinner in Gryffindor Tower. I think practically all of Gryffindor House is going to participate, just like the past two years."

James nodded, wondering to himself why he'd never attended Colleen's birthday parties before. The answer came to him: Remus's transformation usually came around this time of the month. Fortunately this month, the full moon was not due for a few days – Remus might even be well enough to attend the party.

After another hour of chatting with Lily, James rose and said to his girlfriend, "Well, I think it's time to turn in." He planted a kiss on top of her head and said, "Don't stay up too late, Lily."

"I won't," Lily promised, working intently on her Ancient Runes transcription.

James smiled at the easiness of wishing his girlfriend goodnight as he headed to the door to his room. He turned back once more to call, "Goodnight, Lily," and see her glance over the back of the chair and wish him the same. Then he entered his room, closing the door behind himself.

- - - - -

The following night, a Friday, found Lily and the Marauders, along with nearly every other member of the Gryffindor House partying in the common room. Colleen, as a rather well liked person, had a marvelously done party on such short notice. James, as he gazed up at a megaphone bewitched to play only Colleen's favorite songs, suspected that Lily wasn't the only one who prepared for Colleen's birthday.

_Now wherever would I get that idea?_ James thought wryly.

"Hey, Prongs," greeted Sirius, a paper cup filled with strawberry punch held in his hand.

"Hello there, Padfoot," replied James. "What's up? I would have thought you'd be with Colleen, doing stuff I don't care to describe."

"Yeah… good times…" said Sirius with a wistful look on his face. "I was hoping we would be, too., but I can't find her anywhere! Have you seen her?"

James shook his head just as a mighty cheer rose from the party participants. He and Sirius both looked to the top of the staircase to the girls' dormitory and found Colleen standing there with a look of fake astonishment on her face.

"I am SO SURPRISED!" she exclaimed, her hands on her cheeks and her eyes wide open.

James rolled his eyes – it was just like Colleen to want a surprise party.

But Colleen wasn't done with the act. "Oh, I'm so surprised, I think I'm going to faint!" she cried. "Someone catch me!" Then she threw herself over the banister.

James gaped. Sirius tried to make it across the common room before Colleen hit the ground, but it was useless –

Besides, a huge throng of laughing Gryffindors caught her, and Colleen was passed above everyone's head, until she came to stand just before James and Sirius, her face flushed and exhilarated. "Hot damn!" she exclaimed. "That is _fun_."

Lily appeared by her side, shaking her head. "Every year," she muttered.

Colleen grinned at them all. "Thanks for coming, you guys!"

"As if we wouldn't," said James.

"I got you something, Colleen," said Sirius as Peter arrived by them.

Colleen gasped. "You got me my very own Peter Pettigrew!?" she said. "You shouldn't have." She swung her arm around a very confused Peter's shoulders.

"I think Peter would actually be a better gift than this…" Sirius said sheepishly, handing her the small, wrapped box.

Colleen relinquished Peter from her hold and took the box. She tore the wrapping paper off it, removed the lid, and beheld the sterling silver pendent Sirius had bought for her. She lifted it out of the box and examined the huge blue pearl mirroring the color of her eyes.

"It's really crappy. Sorry," he apologized. "I couldn't find anything good, so I had to get you this – "

"No, Sirius, really," Colleen interrupted. "It's… beautiful." The sincere words of praise sounded strange on her tongue. She fastened the pendent around her neck and grinned up at Sirius. "Who has the bestest boyfriend in the world? I do!" She leaned up at kissed him quickly on the mouth.

"Aww," cooed some of the surrounding girls, before Colleen good-naturedly told them to sod off.

The evening passed in a flurry of laughter and merriment. Colleen had received piles of Bertie Botts' Every-Flavor Beans (her favorite candy) and was determined to eat every last box that very night. When cautioned by Lily that it might be dangerous, Colleen replied, "Bring it on. If I die, I want them to say, 'Damn, she had a lot of jellybeans!'"

Eventually, the party attendants began trailing up to the dormitories to get some shut-eye, until only James, Lily, Sirius, Colleen, Remus, and Peter were left in the common room.

"It's late," said Lily with a yawn. "I think I'm going to turn in. Happy birthday, Colleen." She headed towards the portrait hall, then stopped and looked at James expectantly. "Are you coming?"

"Oh!" said James. "Yes, of course. See you! Oh, and happy birthday, Colleen." He trotted over to Lily and they disappeared through the door.

"What an adorable couple," Peter said cynically. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning." And with that, the short, mousy boy stalked off to bed.

"Wow," said Colleen. "What's eating him? I thought he'd been having fun tonight."

Sirius stared after Peter, but said nothing.

Suddenly Remus piped up, "I think I'll follow him. See what's the matter." He dropped a friendly kiss on Colleen's cheek and wished her a happy birthday before climbing the staircase after Peter.

A short silence ensued before Sirius said, "Well, did you enjoy your party?"

"Indeed I did," answered Colleen. "But you know what it's missing?"

"What?" Sirius asked.

"A hot make-out session!" exclaimed Colleen before she threw herself on Sirius.

- - - - -

"Do you really think we ought to have left Colleen and Sirius alone?" asked James.

"What do you mean, James?" said Lily. "Remus and Peter were with them."

James shook his head. "Ah, Lily. How naïve you are," he said. "Let me make a little prediction: Peter will clear out early enough, and Remus will follow him, leaving Sirius and Colleen – two hormone-crazed eighteen-year-olds – alone in the Gryffindor common room, with no one to stop them doing whatever they want."

Lily paled briefly before saying, "You don't think they'll do anything, do you?"

James gave her a meaningful look.

"Seriously?" she asked.

"I'm just saying Sirius is an opportunist," James replied. "I can't guarantee anything."

"But… But Colleen's a responsible witch," said Lily. "She's capable of stopping things if they go too far."

James and Lily stared at each other a minute before Lily sighed. "I'm a baaad Head Girl…"

- - - - -

Sirius gasped for breath – Colleen hadn't been kidding. It _was_ a hot make-out session; probably hotter than they'd had before, although Sirius wasn't placing any bets: His and Colleen's relationship was definitely not the most communication-based in the world.

But then, why should they need to talk? Sirius already knew everything Colleen had to say, because it was the same as what he had. If it weren't for the obvious physical differences and the fact that they both knew who their parents were, Sirius would have bet they were long-lost siblings.

_Then this would be incest_, Sirius thought to himself as he ran his hand up Colleen's leg. _Thank God for family trees…_

The feeling of Colleen's fingers on his abruptly naked chest startled Sirius not a little – it wasn't as though he hadn't felt them there before, but for some reason he'd always gotten the somewhat reassuring feeling that they were winding down. Not so this time. If anything, it seemed she was just warming up.

_So am I_, he groaned inwardly – his body was reacting in the healthy, eighteen-year-old-boy way, and it wasn't making conscious thought very easy.

Apparently, Colleen had noticed it, too. "Getting a bit excited there, Sirius?" she asked in between kisses. He could only groan in response. She kissed him deeply, her fingers playing over his chest. "Don't worry," she whispered. "I think we can do something about that…"

Sirius's eyes flew open and stared at her. "W-What??" he sputtered. "What do you mean!?"

"Well, I don't mean a Dousing Charm," she answered suggestively.

"Uhh… Did you get a firewhisky-flavored jellybean, by any chance?" Sirius asked.

"Hah, you wish," she said. "If I had, we would have already" – she murmured in Sirius's ear exactly what they would have already done – "_twice_."

Sirius gulped. "Twice?" he repeated. "That's a bit, erm, ambitious, isn't it?"

"Mm-hmm." Colleen kissed him again, her fingers trailing down to the waistband of his pants.

Sirius broke the kiss abruptly. "Whoa, whoa," he said, forcing himself to think clearly. "What – ? How – ? When did you – ? I can't be – ! Oh, screw it…" He pulled Colleen back down to him and, he had to admit, got the best "thank you for coming to the party" present ever.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Uhh… hehe… (sheepish grin) Hope you guys don't get all upset about the content of that chappie… It's kinda pushing the rating, but I don't REALLY think it's explicit enough to be R, so I'm keeping it PG-13 (Pretty Good, if you're 13). Oh, and uh, yeah… this chapter is kinda long. They've been getting kinda on the long side because I want to wrap up this story in as few chapters as possible and hopefully by the end of the summer. (crosses fingers) Wish me luck. By the way, I've gotten over 200 pages for this thing on Word. How crazy is that? Now to answer some reviews.

**Ruth3:** Yes, it was a bit predictable… but I still had to do it. To **Cherry:** You're right, I did used to like Sailor Moon… it was my first anime. But I actually wasn't thinking of that at all when I wrote about Endymion. I was just thinking of old Greek mythology (one of my passions), in which Selene is the goddess of the moon and Endymion is the shepherd she falls in love with… But yeah, you were right. **Sammy Solo:** I'm glad you liked the ending to the Remus/Selena thing, and that you thought James was funny. My friend had said something similar to me ("I'll be right back. I'll be really fast, like… lightning… man!"), and I'd thought it was hysterical, so I tweaked it and put it in here. If you guys haven't noticed, a lot of the funny lines I've taken from stuff my friends say. **Sum1strange:** Remus was in the library sulking. Let's just call it what it was. He was sulking. To **lulu:** What Endymion meant by "She loved you, too": Endymion, seeing as he knew his daughter well, could feel accurately that Selena had loved Remus exactly as he loved her. Now, how Remus loved her, THAT is the question:P **RietroFan42:** Haha! A fellow Rogue/Pietro fan?? No way. Anyway, in response to your question, I found out that James is in fact a Chaser (the Harry Potter Lexicon is a beautiful thing), but I'd already made him a Seeker in this story, so… I was kinda out of the loop. See, here's the loop, here am I. Notice how I am not in the loop. You wanna be in the loop, but I was out of the loop. Yeah. **MWPP Fanatic:** Thanks for your kind words about the relationships. I hope you still feel that Sirius and Colleen are cute and not horny little bunnies… To **heluvsmeheluvsmenot:** Haha, apparently you can do it without logging in… blush It's not good enough to be in hardcover… Stop, you're embarrassing me! **Legolas' Girl:** Yeah, I wanted to update exactly a year after I'd started. Kind of a commemoration thingee… Yeah… Whoopee, one year! **StarRuby:** I know, Endymion had never met Remus… I hope it was explained in sum1strange's answer.

And to **DracozFallenAngel, FrEgOrGeLuVeR225, emilydacat, OrlandoPotter13, Ohepelss Oramtnci, snowbabyjoe, milky way bar, Starling94, starburstsweetie, Lily Natalia Evans, vamperfly, Wind Whisperer, glakistry** (hi Irene!)**, Silvercrystal77, Si-FiAddict246, alex, jsas** (hallo there Jane—you have a hott step-cousin), **Nikki Gryffin, Individual-9086, raven, Kyo-grli91, **and **sumwhere-over-the-rainbow:** Thank you all SO MUCH for reviewing. I hope you continue to do so for the rest of your lives. Hehe.

Well, buhbye everyone. And review, review, review!

_8-18-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	24. Beginnings

**Change of Heart**

By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own Harry Potter! Gosh!!!

Summary: James and Lily are finally together, but does Lily actually like James, or is she just going out with him for his sake? James vows to make her love him like he loves her, but he'll have to work hard to make Lily have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Beginnings**

Remus closed the dormitory door behind himself as he entered, relishing the forcefulness of the sound; it seemed to mark the beginning of a revelation. It was almost as though he was closing the door on his melancholy and – hopefully – on Peter's, as well. "Peter, what is going on with you lately?" he asked straightforwardly, completely unlike himself.

The mousy boy – rather than jump, as Remus had expected him to – turned towards his friend. Remus nearly took a step back upon seeing the icy expression on Peter's face.

"What's going on with me, lately, Remus?" he repeated tightly. "You don't _know_? You – with your uncanny ability to tell whatever is the matter with James or Sirius – you can't read poor little Peter? Or do you just not care enough to contemplate me?"

Remus blinked calmly back at Peter, though his mind raced with confusion and suspicion. "I have ideas of what it is, yes," he said carefully, "but I want to know from you exactly what is the matter."

Peter ignored the question. "Has it really taken you this long to realize something was wrong? Has it _really_?" he asked through gritted teeth, clenching and unclenching his fist.

Remus's eyes swept over Peter's body language, and immediately Remus softened his to an unthreatening one. "Of course not, Peter," he answered coolly. "I first noticed it a long while ago, when Sirius first started going out with Colleen, and, as I say, I've had my suspicions of what it is for a while. I want to know if I was right."

"I'm an experiment to you, am I? Nothing more than a – a _lab-rat_, is that right, Remus?"

"I want to _help you_, Peter," Remus answered strongly, steadily.

Peter let out a bark of cold laughter that made Remus's hopes for a solution plummet. "Help me?" he echoed scathingly. "I don't need your help. Not yours or James's or Sirius's. I have friends other than you."

Remus's blood went cold with fear. "What friends, Peter? Who are they?"

Peter only smirked at Remus. "See you around, Moony," he said, crossing the room. He opened the door and slammed it shut before Remus could do anything. This time, the sound chilled Remus to the bone.

- - - - -

"Wake up," ordered a voice, cutting through the haze of Sirius's mind. "Wake up, you great horny lump, and get off me. I can barely breathe."

Sirius blinked his bleary eyes open and met the sight of Colleen's half-amused, half-smothered expression. "Sorry," Sirius apologized as he shifted, and Colleen wriggled out from under him. She drew her robes around her, and Sirius did the same.

"What time do you reckon it is?" Sirius finally asked.

Colleen shrugged. "Four or five in the morning," she said. "Seeing as no one's up and about down here."

A door slammed somewhere, and they heard footsteps. "Spoke too soon, I guess," Colleen muttered.

Peter appeared at the foot of the boys' stairs, and he took a few steps into the common room before noticing Sirius and Colleen. He stopped in his tracks and stared at them.

"How you doin', Pete?" Sirius asked amiably. Colleen waved.

Peter didn't respond – he only turned, muttering, away from them and left the common room through the portrait hall.

"Well," said Colleen. "That was rude!"

- - - - -

That night was the longest in a while that James lasted without something eventful happening. At four-thirty, though, that peace was shattered by a sound James had not heard for a while: Lily's screaming.

The shrieks jerked James out of his slumber. He sat bolt upright in bed as a wave of instincts hit him. The first, that he must protect Lily. The second (one that had been acquired recently), that he must not go in her bedroom under any circumstances, as Lily would surely tear off some part of his anatomy. Lastly, the knowledge that they were going out now, and Lily probably – _probably_ – wouldn't kill him if he went in emerged.

James exploded from his bed, hurtled through the adjoining bathroom, yanked open the door to Lily's room, and burst inside, where he beheld Lily. Dark-red hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat, but she was shivering and writhing on the bed, her arms clasped around her chest. Her unintelligible shrieks erupted from her lips intermittently, and tears streamed down her face.

After a brief moment of taking the whole scene in, James rushed to Lily's bed and grabbed her by the shoulders. At this she screamed even more loudly than before and tried desperately to break free from him.

"Lily, Lily!" shouted James above the screaming. "It's me. It's James. Wake up!" He shook her shoulders a little.

Suddenly Lily's eyes flew open. She stared at James in astonishment for a brief moment, and then collapsed into a sobbing heap in his arms. "Oh, God, James," she cried. "I'm so glad it was only a dream."

"Shh, shh," soothed James, stroking her head in bewilderment. "It's okay. Whatever happened, it's okay."

They sat there for a while, James running his fingers through Lily's matted red hair and Lily crying into James's chest. When the sobbing hiccups had finally gone away, and Lily's hair was smooth as silk from James's combing it, Lily looked up from her boyfriend's chest and said, "I want to t-tell you about it."

James couldn't think of anything to say, so he only nodded.

Lily was silent for a few minutes – so long that James worried she had decided not to tell him. Then she said abruptly, "My dreams are about V-Voldemort."

James had guessed that. Several students at Hogwarts had had dreams about the Dark Lord since his rise to power. Almost all of the Muggle-born witches and wizards were plagued with nightmares of Death Eaters. He pulled Lily closer.

"For a long time, I've had n-nightmares about h-him," she continued. "It started out that he was after m-me, but I'd always wake up before he k-killed me. Then the dreams started to be about his k-killing my f-family. My mum or my dad or my s-s-sister. Those were the d-dreams that you heard me having at the b-beginning of the year."

"I'm so sorry, Lily," murmured James. "They're just dreams."

She went on as if she hadn't heard him. "But t-tonight's was e-even worse," she said. "Because after killing my whole f-family, he came and he killed… he killed…"

"Who'd he kill, Lily?"

"James," sobbed Lily, "he killed _you_."

- - - - -

As Sirius pulled his pants back on, he suddenly realized something. "Colleen," he said to her. "I kind of forgot the – I was too caught up in the whole – thing – that I forgot – "

"What?" Colleen asked.

Sirius tried to give her meaningful looks so she would understand, but she only stared at him blankly. "I forgot the, you know… Contraceptive Charm."

Colleen paled briefly before saying, "It's okay. I'll just do the little testy charm thing, and we'll see if I'm preggers right quick." She whipped out her wand and muttered something. Then she stuck the tip of her wand into her mouth and sat down on the couch with the rest of her wand hanging out of her mouth.

Sirius stared at her. "What the hell are you doing?"

Colleen glared at him but did not answer. After a minute she withdrew the wand from her mouth and examined it. "Sirius…" she murmured, holding out the tip of her wand, which had turned a dark shade of green. "I'm pregnant."

Sirius nearly fell over. "Y-you're pregnant?!" he exclaimed.

Colleen held his gaze for a moment before bursting into laughter. "No!" she laughed. "I just wanted to see your face. You obviously don't know how to read these wand tests. Green means no; blue means yes."

He let out a sigh of relief. "I can't believe you would do something like that to me," he muttered.

"Aw, poow wittle Daddy," joked Colleen, getting up from the couch and giving him a hug. "It was all in good fun."

"You're a horrible, horrible person," said Sirius. Colleen kissed him. "I hate you," he said. And he kissed her back.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Well, guys. It's been forever and a day since I last updated, and I'm really sorry about it. School is back in session and all… This year is way harder than all the others, and I have a 300-pound toddler for my AP European history teacher who assigns hours and hours of homework and then whines about how frustrated he gets when the class doesn't finish it. Fortunately, Christmas break is coming up, and I know how everything is going to go for this story. Pretty much. Plus I really want to finish this one so I can work on my Fred/Hermione/George fanfic… Now to answer some reviews.

**Ohepelss Oramtnci:** Yes, "eventful" is an all-encompassing word… **Sammy Solo:** Daring, indeed. I'm glad you thought it was true to the characters, though. **Luna-Lovegood200:** Another Selena crier! I'm so sorry to put you guys through all that stuff. **Glakistry:** No way do I friggen see you all the time! **DracozFallenAngel:** Thanks for the boundary comment. We like to keep things PG-13 in this household. **Cherry:** Yeah, "bloodless fool" was just my using the thesaurus tool on Word because I couldn't think of anything. And I'm a retard. **StarRuby:** Awesome. TV things like that are hilarious. **DOJ:** Thanks! I'm glad you like Colleen. She's fun to write. And the "giggly, flirty, dumb" line. I actually said that. It was intense. **Sumwhere-over-the-rainbow:** I don't know if anything like that's gonna happen with Lily and James yet. I haven't really planned on it, but I mean, they do have Harry, and there's only one way for that to happen… No, this hadn't happened between Colleen and Sirius before. Yes, they did what you think they did. Unless you thought they played Connect Four or something. I am fifteen going on sixteen! Lalala. And I'll try to read yours, but don't be offended if I can't get around to it. I'm extremely forgetful. ; **Stepha-Lah, sum1strange, JamesGurl19, spotted kitten, vamperfly, Silvercrystal77,** and **SiriusJamesRemus'sgirl:** Thanks, you guys, for liking Sirius, Colleen, or both of them together.

And to **strawberryshortcake23, VictoriaM2006, Sheyla Potter, wounded-angel, ITS ME, ashes infinity, trashcan522, eric, Ruth3, Morgan Golding, Shima and Tempis, Jessi xxx, little-angel123452000, febgirl, MaD-4-u, Kyo-grli91, Lily Natalia Evans, Slytherin's Cliffy Queen, misakichi1, James And Lily 4eva, jsas, milky way bar, **and **little pink sock:** Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story. I hope you all didn't completely lose hope for another update and that some of you come back and review this chappie.

_8-18-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	25. Hobnobbing with Hufflepuffs

**Change of Heart**

By Katie Kiraly

Disclaimer: NO!

Summary: James and Lily are finally together, but does Lily actually like James, or is she just going out with him for his sake? James vows to make her love him like he loves her, but he'll have to work hard to make Lily have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Hobnobbing With Hufflepuffs**

"You don't need him, Lela!" James and Sirius heard as they headed to their beech tree during their free period. "You're way too good for him!"

"Don't tell me…" groaned Sirius as they ascended the grassy slope.

"'Fraid I'm gonna have to, mate," said James grimly as the top of their normally unoccupied tree came into view, "but I'm not any happier about it than you."

The ear-splitting, shrieking giggles of a gaggle of upperclassmen Hufflepuffs stabbed brutally into James's and Sirius's heads. They finally came within sight of their tree, every limb of it draped with a Hufflepuff girl, all of their eyes fixed on a buxom blonde sitting in the center crook of the tree.

"Lela," James and Sirius muttered in unison, and Sirius covered his face in his hands.

Lela Lyndall, Sirius's ex-girlfriend, sat in her fashionably hemmed robes, her shimmering, curly, blonde locks of hair cascading down her back, her long, smooth legs crossed neatly, and her perfectly manicured finger twirling a piece of hair. To the untrained eye, she was an angel of beauty, a modern Venus; to James and Sirius, she was Satan in a Hogwarts uniform.

"I just don't know what to _do_ now that Dennie and I have broken up!" wailed Lela, apparently of her latest boyfriend.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "'Dennie', on the other hand, is probably in convulsions of ecstasy," he whispered to James.

"You'll find someone else, Lela," put in one of Lela's followers.

"Yeah! Every guy in the school totally wants you!" added another.

"Every guy in the school who's deaf," said James under his breath.

One black-haired girl cradled her head in her hand thoughtfully. "Who could you go out with next, Lela?"

"Someone hot," said Lela. All of the girls burst into fits of laughter. Sirius smacked his forehead.

"What about that James Potter?" suggested one.

James paled. Sirius pointed and laughed silently at him before James batted his hand away.

"The Gryffindor Quidditch captain? What a hottie!" sighed a brunette draped over a high branch.

"He's going out with Lily Evans. Remember what Sirius Black said at the last match?"

"Sirius Black," exhaled the girl who'd suggested James. "Now _that_ is one fine young man."

"I don't know whether to be flattered or afraid for my life," muttered Sirius.

"How about him, Lela?" asked the brunette on the branch.

This time James pointed and laughed, while Sirius hunkered even lower into the bush behind which they'd taken cover. "Oh, God, no…"

To Sirius's extreme distaste, Lela actually seemed to consider the prospect of dating Sirius Black again. "Hmm," she said reflectively. "He _has_ grown up a lot since me and him last went out…"

"No! No, I haven't!" hissed Sirius furtively, though Lela could not hear him. "I'm immature and still wet the bed!"

"And he's gotten really tall," continued Lela. "You all know how I like tall guys."

"I'm not tall, no!" Sirius whispered, stooping down as far as he could. "I'm small! I'm tiny! I'm petite! I'm _wee_!"

The black-haired girl stopped the conversation. "Wait a minute," she said. "Isn't he going out with that Gryffindor Chaser?"

"Yes! Yes, that's right!" Sirius nearly shouted for joy before James had to remind him of the gravity of their situation, should they be discovered. "We're deeply in love and nothing can ever tear us apart. Oh, thank you, God. Thank you for Colleen!"

"You mean Cady Morris?" asked Lela. "No, no, they only went to the ball together as friends."

"Oh, well, in that case, go for him!" said the black-haired girl.

"Nooooooo!" Sirius fell to his knees and held up his hands to the sky. "Why, God? Why?"

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, Padfoot," James said somberly, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"That dirty bastard."

- - - - -

"Oh! Oh! Bergen! Oh! Bergen!"

Colleen rolled her eyes at her Divination partner's antics. Dennis Bergen, a seventh-year Hufflepuff who preferred to be known by his last name, was notorious throughout the school for his wand-flipping expertise. He repeatedly flipped his wand while sitting at a desk, walking around the room – anywhere that had the room to do so, and even places that didn't, which had backfired on him, giving him a deep scar on his left cheek. But this did not deter him from flipping his wand. In fact, he found it so cool that he'd labeled it with his own last name, and whenever he executed the flip, he shouted, "Bergen!" and brushed imaginary dust off of his shoulders.

"Hey, O'Brian," said Bergen to Colleen. "You wanna see something?"

"Sure," said Colleen with an interested eyebrow-raise. Bergen really quite amused her.

"You ready?" Bergen flipped his wand and looked at her expectantly.

"Yeah, I'm ready," she said.

"You ready?" he asked again.

"Yes, Bergen, I'm ready."

"Okay. Check this out." Bergen flipped his wand over his shoulder and kicked out behind him with his foot in an attempt to catapult the wand back over his shoulder to catch it. The wand did hit his foot, but instead of arching back over Bergen's shoulder, it ricocheted off his shoe into Professor Prudentia's curly, gray hair. The stout professor did not notice – at least not until the wand began cracking and spouting sparks.

"MISTER BERGEN!" the small woman exploded, wrenching the wand from her hair. Bergen winced as she flung the offending item at his feet. "IF YOU INSIST UPON MAKING THIS SUPERNATURAL HAVEN INTO AN UNNATURAL HELLHOLE, THEN PLEASE, FOR GOODNESS SAKE, LEAVE!"

Bergen respectfully picked up his wand and walked towards the tower room door. Colleen gave him a sympathetic look. When Bergen reached the door, he turned back toward the class, which was watching him curiously, and with a smirk, flipped his wand and said, "Bergen!"

"_GET OUT!_" shrieked Professor Prudentia amid the class's laughter. Bergen scurried out of the classroom and closed the door behind him.

- - - - -

"Hey, Siiiirius…?"

Sirius knew who it was before he turned around. He knew he should not have walked the halls alone so soon after hearing Lela's conversation with her friends, but James had had to use the restroom, and Sirius had refused to wait outside for him like a fool or follow him in like a girl.

So to save face, Sirius had opted for the other choice: to commit almost certain suicide and chance seeing his ex-girlfriend, the girl he'd hoped to never have to deal with again, Lela Lyndall.

_Maybe I can pretend I didn't hear her,_ Sirius thought to himself. _Yeah, that's a good idea. Just walk faster._ He sped up.

"Sirius? Sirius!"

_Keep walking! Walk, fool, walk!!_ Sirius nearly broke into a run.

"Sirius Black!"

_No, no, no…_ But when Sirius felt the soft grip of Lela's hand on his shoulder, he knew he was done for. There was no escape. And when he turned to stare into those vacant purple eyes – that color that he knew she had worked as hard as he had to become an Animagus to be able to produce – he felt a little part of him die inside.

"Hello, Lela," he croaked. "Didn't hear you come up."

She giggled. "I've been calling your name for ages! You must be deaf!" She twittered again.

Sirius cringed slightly at the sound of her laugh. "Heh, heh, yeah, must be."

"Where were you off to in such a hurry, anyway?"

"Um, Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Oh, that class! I quit that class. I tried to take the O.W.L., but I'm all, 'This is hard!'" She burst into giggles again.

Sirius tried to make it look as though he really needed to get to class by checking his watch. "Yeah, well…"

"And Professor Relnard, in fifth year!" continued Lela. "What a jerk! I mean, really, making us study bundimuns! Gross!"

"Uh, huh…" Sirius looked longingly at the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor. _So close, and yet so far away…_

"Sirius!"

He nearly burst into tears of joy at the sound of Colleen's voice. She was trotting down the hall toward him. "Come on, we're going to be late!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him after her into the corridor.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Sirius asked as she dragged him toward their next class.

Colleen looked at him. "Um. No. How much do you love me?"

"A lot!"

"How cute."

"You saved me from certain death just now! You know that, don't you?"

She looked thoughtful. "No. Didn't know that. What was going to kill you?"

"Sheer stupidity in the form of seventh-year Hufflepuff."

"Certainly you don't mean Dennis Bergen," said Colleen.

Sirius laughed briefly. "No, no. But what brings up Bergen?" Colleen told him what had happened in Divination. "You mean you had a close encounter with the Bergen kind?"

"Dennis Bergen is a great man," said Colleen solemnly.

"How many people now say, 'Bergen,' when they throw something in the air?" wondered Sirius. "But anyway, no, not Bergen. I ran into She Who Shall Not Be Named."

"…Voldemort in drag?"

"Worse. Lela Lyndall."

"Is she the girl who in fourth year asked Professor Slughorn if he thought fire seeds could come from something that's on fire?"

"None other," Sirius said. "James and I overheard her talking about her breakup with her boyfriend and wailing about 'whatever would she do?'"

"Maybe she ought to plant some _mind_ seeds and grow herself a brain," suggested Colleen, turning into the Defense Against the Dark Arts room.

"And share some with Bergen while she's at it," joked Sirius as he followed Colleen.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Yes, yes, extremely worthless chapter, I know. I needed an interlude chapter to show that a bit of time passed since the last one. Otherwise I would have jumped several weeks and that would have just been dumb. (Yes, like _this_ wasn't dumb…) Anyway, you guys can probably tell I don't have an extremely high opinion of this chapter. It was a filler. But I do assure you, Lela and Bergen will play other parts. I probably should bring in a Ravenclaw at one point, huh? All my random characters are Hufflepuffs… Oh, and about Bergen. I know a kid I based him off of shamelessly. I admit it. He's exactly like him. Only the real Bergen flips his pen instead of a wand. Oh, and sorry to anyone who is extremely devoutly religious. It was not my intention to offend anyone by what Sirius said. I myself am not religious in the least, but I know some people can be very sensitive about these things. So please don't be angry about that.

Alright, reviews. **Stepha-Lah:** Premonitions, eh? **Little pink sock:** You shall see, socky… You shall see… **JamesGurl19:** What is "highly recommending"? I mean, I know what it means, but is it something concrete you can do on this site? **DOJ:** Chills. Oh, yes. I'm glad you like Colleen. She is like my childrens… er… child… **Cherry:** Shh… I know. **SexMachineAlpha:** Where do grapes come from? From France! **Lily Natalia Evans:** AP Euro… grr…

And **ashes infinity, animerocksjapanrocks, Ethuiliel, A.Simeone, JamesLvr4eva, Ohepelss Oramtnci, milky way bar, sum1strange, angryteabag, Jsas, justdreem, Shima And Tempis** (I like your name because it's close to Tempest), **Jessie xxx, Kat44, **and **Sammy Solo:** Thank you all for reviewing. It always means a lot to me. And as y'all know, reviews increase exponentially; the more reviews you have, the more reviews you get. Thank you all so much! Please review again! (Oh, also, I usually only respond to reviews of the most recent chapter. So if you'd like to be answered, review the latest chapter. Just thought I'd let you guys know.)

Thanks for reading, and as always, review, review, review!

_8-19-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before. I changed Bergen's first name from Brian to Dennis, because I just re-met Brian Bergen the other night and he was very strange to me. Still, I couldn't think of another last name, so he is now Dennis Bergen._


	26. The Glasses and the Grin

**Change of Heart**

By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: I own Lela Lyndall and Dennis Bergen.

Summary: James and Lily are finally together, but does Lily actually like James, or is she just going out with him for his sake? James vows to make her love him like he loves her, but he'll have to work hard to make Lily have a change of heart.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twenty-Six: The Glasses and the Grin**

Several weeks passed, bringing the Marauders, Lily, and Colleen into the second week of May and the last Quidditch match of the season: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.

"You'll be watching, right?" James asked Lily nervously as he checked his Quidditch bag to make sure everything was in it. "I mean, this is a really important match, you know. Us versus Ravenclaw – for the House Cup – not to mention… So you'll be there, right, Lily?"

"Of course, James," she said reassuringly, ignoring his near-hysteria. "In the usual spot with Remus and Peter."

"I'll look for you." James grinned and kissed Lily on the mouth quickly before leaving the Head Tower.

As James approached the locker rooms, he heard Liz Hamilton exclaim, "Just don't get _me_ sick! I've got a date with Chris tonight."

"What's going on? Who's sick?" James asked, pushing open the glass locker room door and looking at the team frantically

"I said I was feeling a _little _under the weather," said Colleen indignantly from where she sat next to her trusty Shooting Star. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Colleen O'Brian doesn't 'get sick'."

"Well, good on you, Colleen," said James, "because I've heard that Ichabod Ingelbert of the British Quidditch Industry is watching in the stands for any promising seventh year players. Wouldn't want to not play this game to your best."

"Ichabod Ingelbert!" exclaimed Cady Morris, her head jerking up from her untied shin guard. "He's the most famous talent scout in the business!"

"How'd you find out Ingelbert was coming, James?" asked Jake Bell, clipping stray twigs from his beaten-up Swiftstick.

"I saw him, o' course," said James nonchalantly, sitting down beside Lee Butterwick, who gaped at him unabashedly.

"You _saw_ him? When? Where?"

"Walking with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Sprout just now."

"How'd you know it was Ingelbert?" asked David Gilmore suspiciously, leaning on his Cleansweep Five.

"Family friend," James said smugly, gazing at all of them with a look that he knew a few months ago would have made Lily want to hex him into next week.

All of them except Colleen stared at him. "You're family's friends with – ?" began Liz incredulously.

"You mean you _know_ – ?"

"Oh, stop it, all of you," said Colleen, rolling her eyes. "Potter's just showin' off. His family's not really friends with Ingelbert, is it, Cap'n?"

James shrugged noncommittally and smirked at the team.

"You little fibber," Cady growled playfully. "You really had me!"

"Me, too," admitted Lee.

"I didn't believe it for a second," said David proudly.

"But, James," Liz said, "Ichabod Ingelbert really is coming, right? You saw him?"

"Sure, I saw him," James said.

"Still don't believe it," David grumbled, slinging his Cleansweep over his shoulder. "But whether Ingelbert's here or not, we should head out there. Get your gear on, Cap'n. It's gonna be a rough game."

- - - - -

"O' course, Ravenclaw's got that new Seeker, a third year named Michael Sayers," Sirius was saying to Lily, Remus, and Peter as they headed down to the Quidditch pitch. "I heard his dad's in the business and gets broom prototypes, and Sayers is riding the newest Comet broom, but who knows if that'll help him any?"

Lily looked at him in surprise. "Why wouldn't it help him?"

"Broom prototypes are unreliable," Sirius explained. "Sometimes they plummet suddenly to the ground – got a few broken bones over the years from prototypes, the testers have, some bystanders, too."

"I'm sure James can handle it," Remus said positively, catching sight of Lily's pale, drawn expression.

"I wasn't saying he couldn't," Sirius continued crossly. "I was just getting you guys up to speed. And also at the last match, Leon Turner, one of the Beaters, took a Bludger to the head and blacked out for a few hours. He woke up not remembering his name. They say he's almost fully recovered, but you never know…"

"How awful," Lily said empathetically.

Sirius shrugged. "Better them than us," he said. "Well, I gotta get up to the stands with McGonagall. You know what a stickler she is. See you after!" And with that, he trotted away.

"We oughta go get our seats," Remus said to Lily and Peter, and they all trekked up the stairs to a red-and-gold checkered Quidditch platform.

The three of them took their seats, Lily between the two boys. Remus eyed Peter discreetly as the mousy boy sat sullenly with his arms crossed. Remus had not told anyone of what had happened the night of Colleen's birthday. He only had suspicions of what Peter had meant, and Remus was the meditative type. Peter had also become less moody around Sirius, and he was downright pleasant to James, so Remus did not think it was worth causing a possible rift in the Marauders to mention their conversation.

"Looks like Sirius has got the spell on his voice," said Lily, gazing up into the tallest tower of the pitch. Remus and Peter looked up there after her.

"Hello!" boomed Sirius's voice. "It's a wonderful May afternoon as the last Quidditch match of the season gets under way. And here comes Ravenclaw in blue and bronze, coming from a close loss in their last game against Slytherin. The Captain and Keeper, Rick Davies, is out first, followed by the all-female Chaser trio, Clara Huntley, Louiza Levene, and Pearl Oyster. After them come Leon Turner and Keaton Weber, the team's Beaters. And lastly, it's Michael Sayers, the Seeker and the youngest current Hogwarts Quidditch player." The Ravenclaw team was greeted by great rolling cheers from the blue-and-bronze checkered pillars.

"And here's Gryffindor," continued Sirius, "also coming off a defeat." He said this darkly. "First it's James Potter, the Captain and Seeker of the team. Then the Chasers, Jake Bell, Cady Morris, and Colleen O'Brian. Rawr!"

"Mister Black!" exclaimed McGonagall above the laughter on the pitch. "Growling at the Quidditch players is wildly inappropriate."

"She's my woman, McGonagall. I can't help it," said Sirius apologetically. "Anyway! After O'Bloody-Beautiful, it's the Beaters, Lee Butterwick and David Gilmore. And last but not least, Liz Hamilton, the Gryffindor team's Keeper, steps onto the field!" Gryffindor's followers cheered loudly for their team.

Lily's heart thumped loudly in her chest as she watched James step onto the field. She could see his wild black hair from where she sat, and the sunlight glinted off his glasses. He stood tall in his red Quidditch robes, holding his Nimbus 1000 at his side as he watched Madam Hooch approach him and Davies at the middle of the pitch. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and grinned lopsidedly at nothing in particular, remembering something, as always. He always seemed to remember something when he pushed his glasses up.

How many times had Lily seen him do that? The glasses and the grin. Probably five, ten times a day, she guessed. So why did it this time make her breath catch uncomfortably in her throat, and why did her heart throb painfully in her chest? She wondered as James and Rick Davies shook hands, and as Hooch threw the Quaffle into the air. She wondered as Colleen snatched the Quaffle nearly out of Clara Huntley's grasp, and as Lee smacked a Bludger away from Jake. It took her until Colleen scored the first ten points for Gryffindor, and Sirius's voice rang out loudly through the stadium to realize why.

She had fallen in love with James Potter.

And she knew she needed to tell him – right now – right away. He would want to know.

Lily leapt to her feet, cupping her hands around her mouth and screaming with all the strength she could muster. "JAMES! JAMES POTTER!"

Remus and Peter stared at her in confusion. "Lily, what are you – ?" began Remus.

"JAMES – POTTER!" Lily screamed, not caring that many of the students on her platform were staring.

"I don't think he can hear you, Lily," said Peter softly.

"He'll hear me," she said firmly. "He's got to hear me."

- - - - -

James had tuned everything out. He was focused on finding the Snitch. "Where did that little gold bugger get to, anyway?" he wondered to himself. Fifty yards away, Michael Sayers, the scrawny third year Ravenclaw Seeker, hunted similarly for the small, gold ball.

"Well, at least _he_ hasn't – "

"_JAMES – POTTER!"_

James spun toward the loud cry of his name. An entire Gryffindor platform was screaming it at him. He assumed they were only cheering him on and waved, but then the entire platform shouted, "SHE – WANTS – TO – TALK – TO – YOU!"

He wondered briefly whom they could be talking about, but he swiftly flew over there, hoping Sayers would not catch sight of the Snitch. "What? What is it?" he asked.

Everyone on the platform turned toward Lily, who was blushing profusely. "James," she said quietly, smiling at him with watery green eyes. "I love you."

The whole Gryffindor platform "ooh"ed at the couple as James floated there in astonishment and elation.

"Well?" a small second year girl asked expectantly when everyone had quieted down.

James grinned at the girl. "I love her, too. Whaddaya think? Gosh!" he said with mock exasperation in his voice and a smile on his face as the platform erupted it cheers.

Suddenly there was a great buzzing in James's ear. He turned his head – and there was the Snitch, right beside him! He reached his hand out quickly, but the little ball darted out from his fingers. James tore off after the ball.

"Looks like Potter finally stopped gossiping with the Gryffindors and got his act together, and he's found the Snitch! Sayers is after it just as quickly on his Comet prototype."

The Snitch banked a quick left and headed straight toward the midst of the Chasers. James groaned but followed the small ball zealously. Cady shrieked as James sped right in front of her, nearly dropping the Quaffle. James circled Jake and Louiza Levene of Ravenclaw, Sayers right on his broomtail, straining his arm as far as it would go.

Slowly, slowly, he gained on the Snitch. His hand was nearly on it. And then he felt his fingers close around the small widget, and he raised it up triumphantly.

But instead of the cheers to which he was accustomed, a huge gasp of surprise and horror met James. He looked frantically around at what it could be.

"Sayers's broom is out of control!" exclaimed Sirius. "He can't seem to stop it!"

James caught sight of Sayers's small frame being jerked around by the speeding, faulty Comet prototype. It certainly was fast – faster than any of the brooms on the field – but Sayers had no control over it. The broom zoomed around all of the players, and no one dared go near to stop it.

Suddenly the broom stalled, and Sayers sighed with relief. Then it abruptly zoomed faster than ever straight at Colleen.

"Hey, watch – !" she got out before Sayers and his broom crashed into her. Both of them fell the fifteen or twenty feet to the ground, Sayers and his broom landing on Colleen's stomach. She cried out and shoved him off of her as the rest of the teams landed and gathered around.

"Are you alright?" asked Cady, breathless.

Colleen opened her mouth to answer, but instead she whirled toward the ground and vomited her whole breakfast onto the ground. She looked back up at Cady. "Yeah," she coughed. "Just fine."

- - - - -

"I'm so, so, _so_ sorry," Michael Sayers said for about the twentieth time since he and Madam Pomfrey had aided Colleen to the Infirmary. He'd sprained his wrist in the fall, but he ignored the obvious swelling in his arm and seemed concerned with Colleen's health.

"Really, it's okay," said Colleen to the younger boy again. "Sorry I broke your broom."

"That broom was an instrument of death," he said solemnly. "It needed to be destroyed."

Colleen laughed a little, then leaned over the Infirmary bed and threw up for the third time into a blue plastic trashcan. "Maybe Colleen O'Brian _does_ get sick," she muttered.

"We'll just see about that," said Madam Pomfrey, sweeping into the room with a flimsy all-purpose medical wand, designed to give an exact status check of any person based on a color code. "Open wide." She slipped it into Colleen's mouth and waited the sixty seconds allotted. She tugged the wand back out of Colleen's mouth and examined it. The tip was a deep, royal blue.

"Oh, dear," said Pomfrey upon seeing it.

"What? What does that mean?" asked Colleen curiously.

"Why, Miss O'Brian," said the nurse, looking at her seriously, "you're pregnant."

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Oooohhhhhhh… Evil, eh? Well, now you all know… THE BIG SECRET! The last few chapters are gonna focus on this new thing, I think, and what happens… I have to decide if what I was going to do is stupid or not. Okay! Well, yes. That was a fun and eventful chapter to write. All in one day. Go me! Now for some reviews, quickly, because it's 12:06 AM.

**Ohepelss Oramntci:** I can't imagine why you see an impending rift _because_ of Bergen and Lela… **sum1strange:** Standstills suck. Filler chapters suck. But it was just preparing you guys for this one! **Little pink sock:** Haha, yes. You are Socky. I'm glad you liked Sirius and James. **Cherry:** As always, you are right. It was a worthless chapter. I admit it. Hope you liked this one better. **Shima And Tempis:** Creepy… yes… I know this one girl who stalked one of my friends over Myspace. The night they were supposed to meet, he got out of it, but she told him, "Aw, man. And I rubbed myself all over with oil, too." He was extremely scared. **A.Simeone:** I'm glad you liked the conversations, and that you weren't offended by "That dirty bastard." I thought that was the best thing to be said to what James said. **JamesLvr4eva, Shima And Tempis, **and **little pink sock:** Glad you guys liked Lela. Her name in Spanish means "stupid".

And to **the-wolves-howl, passionflower24, Stepha-Lah** (I'm not answering because I'm not sure yet), **JamesGurl19, Jessie xxx, SexMachineAlpha,** and **animerocksjapanrocks:** Thank you all for reviewing. I appreciate it, as always. It's nice seeing people coming back and reviewing. I recognized a lot of you this time!

Anyway, I hope I get a lot of reviews for this chapter, as the last one was kind of lacking… Sounds awful greedy of me. I already have a lot. But my ultimate goal is 1000. I would be extremely honored if I were among the authors who have achieved 1000 reviews. Reach for the stars, Tempest… Reach for the stars…

Review, review, review!

_8-20-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	27. Blue

**Change of Heart**

By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: From the previous chapter, I own Rick Davies, Clara Huntley, Louiza Levene, Pearl Oyster, Leon Turner, Keaton Weber, and Michael Sayers. I like Michael Sayers. He'll be in this more, I think.

Summary: I think you know by now. Plus I can't think of something that ends in "change of heart" anymore.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Blue**

"Why, Miss O'Brian," said the nurse, looking at her seriously, "you're pregnant."

For one long moment, Colleen's brain stopped functioning. She gaped at Madam Pomfrey. Then a familiar feeling crept at the bottom of her tongue, and she quickly lowered her head and threw up into the blue trashcan for a fourth time.

"No wonder you've been throwing up so much," Pomfrey said knowingly.

Colleen's head whipped up again. "You can't be serious. It's impossible," she said firmly.

Pomfrey raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't tell me we've got another Virgin Mary on our hands."

Colleen blushed. "Um, no, not exactly," she muttered. "But I… er… checked… right after… uh… it."

The nurse sighed and handed Colleen a cup of mouthwash, which she swished around. "Kids these days. Don't you know anything?" she asked. "It can take up to two days for insemination. You can't accurately check until then. Honestly, I don't know what's happened to this generation, but…"

Colleen stared at the Styrofoam cup of blue liquid as she listened to Pomfrey go on about pregnancy and the irresponsibility of 'kids these days'. The minty blue mouthwash sloshed against the sides of the cup. A lot of things seemed to be blue. The trashcan, the mouthwash. The all-purpose wand. Colleen glanced at the royal blue tip of the wand and shuddered.

"So, who's the father?"

She snapped back into real life and stared up at Madam Pomfrey. "What?" she croaked.

"Who's the father?" Pomfrey repeated impatiently.

Colleen panicked briefly. Not that there was any doubt in her mind who the father was. Just the idea of "the father" made her frantic.

Pomfrey noted her obvious unease and said with a sigh, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Privacy and all that." She bustled back into her room huffily and slammed the door.

Colleen groaned and flopped back onto her bed. "I always knew I'd be a juvenile delinquent," she muttered.

Suddenly she remembered Michael Sayers. He was in the Infirmary, too, just two beds over from her. She turned toward him. He was carefully inspecting his red, swollen wrist, pretending he had not heard anything.

"You heard it all, didn't you." She said it as more a statement than a question.

Sayers jumped visibly – he was a jumpy kind of kid, Colleen noted without interest – but as soon as he calmed down, he nodded. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Oh, yes, because it's entirely your fault," Colleen said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry I ran into you," he said quietly after a moment. "I… Do you think the, uh… the baby's all right? You know, from the fall."

Colleen looked down as she swished the mouthwash around in the cup. "Yeah," she said finally. "But my life's not."

- - - - -

"I really hope Colleen's all right," said Lily nervously to Remus and Peter as they waited outside the locker rooms for James. "She didn't fall quite so far as she did before, but it still looked like it hurt."

"I'm sure she's fine," Peter said what would have been reassuringly if not for the note of annoyance. Remus looked at him sharply.

"Excuse me, miss," said a hoarse voice from behind Lily and the boys. "Is this the entrance to the Gryffindor locker room?"

Lily, Remus, and Peter whirled around and met a tall, thin man in black businesslike robes. He had salt-and-pepper hair under a tall wizard's hat and a thick, bristling moustache. "Yes, but who are you?" asked Lily.

The wizard withdrew from the sleeve of his robe a small piece of paper. "My card," he said, handing it to Lily.

"'Ichabod Ingelbert, Talent Scout for B. Q. I.,'" read Lily.

"Ichabod Ingelbert!" exclaimed Remus. "I'd no idea you were here!"

Mr. Ingelbert nodded. "Of course. I always come to some Hogwarts Quidditch matches to check out the new blood," he said. "And I was particularly interested in a certain Gryffindor player, but I don't suppose – Oh, hello!" He seemed to note their Gryffindor badges for the first time.

"Um, hi," said Lily, uncomfortable at the man staring at her chest.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mr. Ingelbert said quickly. "I was just examining your badge, of course. You seem to be from the very House from which the player I was interested in comes! You wouldn't happen to know a Chaser by the name of Colleen O'Brian?"

Lily's mouth dropped open, Remus's eyebrows rose into his hair, and Peter stared agape at Mr. Ingelbert. "C-Colleen's the one you're interested in!?" exclaimed Lily.

"Why, yes, of course," said Mr. Ingelbert, unruffled. "I take it you know her?"

"Know her!" cried Lily. "She's my best friend! She's my boyfriend's best friend's girlfriend!"

Mr. Ingelbert smiled widely. "Well, in that case, could you inform her of my interest?"

"Oh, yes," Lily said quickly. "Yes, I'll just – " In her flustered state, she started for the locker room door, but Remus grabbed her collar.

"Um, Lily," he said. "Colleen's up in the Infirmary, remember?"

Lily flushed red. "Oh. Right. Well, in that case, follow me, Mr. Ingelbert."

- - - - -

"I won't tell anyone."

Colleen looked up from her sloshing mouthwash at Michael Sayers. He was still staring at his swelled wrist. "Th-that is, if you don't want me to," he said uncomfortably. "I won't tell."

She looked at him for a while, weighing what he'd said in her mind. Not telling would involve… not really lying, because no one knew or had any suspicions. And there was only a little more than a month more of school. No one would be able to tell before then, right?

But what about Sirius? Colleen cringed at the thought. Yes, it was his child. Yes, it was partly his responsibility. No, she did not want to tell him. She really, really did _not_ want to tell him. But how was she supposed to support the thing? She certainly couldn't do it on her own. She had only worked once, as a waitress at a pub close to her home. She'd lasted a week before the manager had kicked her out for being late too many times.

Financial support was a definite problem. She couldn't go to her father. He already had his hands full with her four younger brothers and sisters. They lived in a trailer, for goodness sake! She could not put that burden on him any more than she could tell Sirius. So what was she to do?

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Colleen and Sayers both stared at it, then they both glanced at the door Pomfrey had disappeared into. She didn't seem to have heard the knock.

"Er, come in," said Colleen anxiously, praying it was not Sirius.

It wasn't Sirius, but it was nearly as bad. Lily, Remus, and Peter all walked into the Infirmary, followed by a strange man whom Colleen had never seen before.

"Uh, yeah," said Colleen, feeling her old self upon seeing Lily, "it's great that you wanna visit me and all, but do you have to bring a tourist with you?"

Lily laughed a little and said, "Colleen, this is – "

"Ichabod Ingelbert," the man interrupted, stepping forward and handing Colleen a small piece of paper from his sleeve. "My card."

Colleen scanned the card's bold lettering and looked back up at the man, Mr. Ingelbert. "B. Q. I.?" she asked, not understanding.

"Or the British Quidditch Industry, of course, if that rings a bell," said Mr. Ingelbert. At Colleen's blank face, he said, "Ah, a Muggle-born? Half-blood?"

"Half-blood," Colleen confirmed.

"Of course. Then you wouldn't know," said Mr. Ingelbert. "Well, the BQI controls all professional Quidditch teams, players, and matches in Britain, as the name suggests. I, of course, am a talent scout, as it says on my card, and I come to Hogwarts every year to check out the current talent on the field. This year, I watched this game, and I was especially intrigued by the Gryffindor team. Particularly one Chaser by the name of Colleen O'Brian." He looked at her meaningfully.

Colleen stared at him. "Y-you were… _intrigued_ by me?" she squeaked.

He smiled widely at her. "Of course! You were definitely one of the star players out on the field."

She blinked at him, a grin spreading on her face. "W-what does this mean for me?" she asked.

"Well, I do believe there's a spot for a Chaser on the Holyhead Harpies Reserve Team, and they're looking for a nice young witch who could be with them for a long time." Mr. Ingelbert beamed broadly at her again.

Colleen's face lit up. "I… I don't know what to say, Mr. Ingelbert," she said, for probably the first time in her life.

"You don't have to decide now, of course," said Mr. Ingelbert. "But if you want to reach me, you have my card." He tipped his pointy hat to her and the others and quickly left the Infirmary.

Colleen stared down at the small piece of paper in her hand. It had just solved her problem. Professional Quidditch players made a lot of money, didn't they? Enough to raise a child on. Enough to not have to go to her father for money.

Enough to not have to tell Sirius.

"So what're you gonna do, Colleen?" Lily asked her excitedly. "You're gonna do it, right?"

Colleen looked up at her friend and grinned and nodded. Lily smiled back, but before she could say anything more, Madam Pomfrey became aware of healthy people in her Infirmary and came bustling out of her office once again.

"Out! Out you go!" she said, ushering Lily, Remus, and Peter out the door. "Your friend needs her rest. You'll see her when I release her. Go on. Get out." She closed the door and with a sniff at Colleen, whisked herself back into her office.

After a few moments, Colleen turned to Michael Sayers, who had been silent this entire time. "You won't tell anyone, right?"

He looked up at her. Then he nodded.

"Thanks."

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** So, yeah. This chapter, while not as worthless as twenty-five, was a bit on that side of the usefulness factor. I had originally intended Sirius to be in it, too, but, as you can see, that did not work out. I'm just trying to get out as many chapters as I can before the break is over. I seem to work fastest after 9 o'clock, but I'll try for another one tomorrow. I just need to finish this story before July 16th, when **THE NEXT HARRY POTTER BOOK COMES OUT! **Oh em gee, guys. Oh em gee.

Also, I'm a loser, so here's a link to a poll I made for you guys. It's a poll for you to vote on your favorite original character from this story.

Now for the reviews. **Lavamad:** You'd be surprised how many people reviewed asking me how Colleen could be pregnant now. Actually, I was hoping people wouldn't think she could be, so it would come as a surprise. **Shima And Tempis:** Haha, yes, I felt sorry for him. Clinching ending, indeed. Someday we'll find out Sirius's reaction. Someday. **Lily Natalia Evans:** Yep, from _Napoleon Dynamite_. I love that movie with a passion. Such a cult movie. I say lines from it all the time. **CandyCaneLane:** Yeah, that'd kinda suck, but I couldn't think of another way for her to find out quickly enough. **Muus:** Indeed I am a woman. I'm sorry to anger your manliness, but I also suggest you give menstrual cramps a try.  **Daleia:** Thanks. Reviews like that give me the ol' Warm And Fuzzy Feelings. To **Prongs Luver, animerocksjapanrocks, Stepha-Lah, sum1strange, Lily Natalia Evans, **and **daleia:** You guys were either surprised at the pregnancy or were confused. I hope I did a good follow-up to the last chapter and smoothed out any unclearness on how she could be pregnant if the test before said she wasn't.

Also thanks to **Ohepelss Oramtnci, astronomylover, xangel-luvx, A.Simeone, Jaimee, JamesLuver19,** and **Caitlin:** Thank you all for reviewing it. It means a lot to me. I hope you all review this one, too!

Well, till the next author's note, buhbye and review, review, review!

_8-20-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	28. Spat Out Like a Curse

Change of Heart

**Change of Heart**

By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: I think I oughta make a list of all the characters I own. So I will. Later.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Spat Out Like a Curse**

"What? No adoring fans to greet me?" asked James as he stepped outside and found only Sirius waiting for him. "What a magnificent washout – I mean, turnout."

Sirius crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, lovely thanks I get for waiting for you," he muttered indignantly. "Everyone else went up to the Infirmary to see _my girlfriend_, but I, like a good friend, waited for you so you wouldn't be alone. You could at least promise me vast amounts of money or something."

James rolled his eyes at his friend. "Well, let's get going up to see Colleen, then," he said, turning toward the castle. Sirius followed him, grumbling about ungratefulness.

"If that kid Sayers hurt Colleen," James heard Sirius mumble as Sirius caught up to him, "he's gonna wish he had never been born."

"She looked okay," said James, "just a little, you know… throwy-uppy." At the dangerous flash in Sirius's eyes, James quickly said, "But she'd been saying she felt sick that morning, so I'm sure it wasn't entirely Sayers's fault."

"He would hope not," growled Sirius.

When James and Sirius finally reached the Infirmary, Sirius tentatively pushed the door open and peered inside. He found Colleen chatting and smiling with the short, scrawny third year Ravenclaw who had crashed into her.

"…And I turned and ran into the wall," Sayers was laughing embarrassedly.

Colleen laughed. "Why didn't you just open your eyes?"

Sayers abruptly stopped laughing and stared at her with his eyes, in this case, wide open. "I don't know," he said as though the idea had just occurred to him.

Colleen chuckled and then seemed to notice the new presences in the room. She turned toward James and Sirius. Was it just Sirius, or did the smile fall for a second from Colleen's face?

"Nice o' you to finally show up," she drawled, rolling her eyes at the two boys. Then she grinned.

_Just me, I guess._ Sirius smiled back. "The hell are you talking about? We came here as fast as we could!" he said, crossing to her stiff Infirmary bed. He mussed up her hair affectionately.

She batted his hand away. "Yeah, well, practically the entire world got here before you guys did," she said. "You're a horrible person, Sirius Black. Just horrible."

"Will you punish me later?" he asked goofily, sticking his tongue out of the side of his mouth.

Colleen laughed lightly. "Oh, by the way, guys," she said, gesturing to the third year in the bed beside hers, "this is Michael Sayers. Michael, these are Sirius Black and James Potter."

"I know who they are!" protested Sayers, reddening.

"Yeah, _now_ you do," muttered Colleen jokingly.

"It's nice to meet you both," Sayers said to James and Sirius.

"Likewise," said Sirius. James nodded.

"It was also nice to meet your mom last night," he continued seriously.

Colleen burst out laughing at Sirius and James's astounded expressions. "He did that to me just a few minutes ago, too," she snorted.

"I think I may have underestimated you, Sayers," said Sirius, looking at the third year in a new light.

"That's weird," said Sayers, "because that's exactly what your mom said!"

- - - - -

"I liked your friends," Sayers remarked to Colleen when Madam Pomfrey had exasperatedly ushered Sirius and James out of the Infirmary and asked in annoyance why Colleen's friends just _had_ to visit her.

"Yeah, they're great," said Colleen, smiling.

"It's…" began Sayers haltingly, "it's his, right? Sirius's?"

She nodded slowly. "Don't tell him. Please."

"I won't. I promise."

- - - - -

"Has Colleen been acting a little – weird – lately?" asked Lily abruptly one night next to James on the crimson couch in their common room a week after the Quidditch incident.

James looked up from his Defense Against the Dark Arts homework quizzically. "No, not that I've noticed," he said, shaking his head.

She sighed. "Maybe it's just me."

"What do you mean by 'weird'? She certainly is as cheerful as ever."

"I know, I know," said Lily, her brow furrowed. "To all appearances, she's exactly the same as usual. But I can't shake this feeling that it's not real, you know? It's a façade or something… like she's got something weighing on her mind…"

"I don't know, Lily," said James, shrugging. "But you know her better than I do. You ought to ask her."

Lily chewed her lip in consternation, staring at the book in her hands. "It's probably groundless, but… I'm worried about her…"

James looked at her for a moment. Then he shouted, "You're so _cute_!!" and threw his arms around her. Lily laughed as she fell on the couch under him, thoughts of Colleen momentarily forgotten as James's mouth sealed over hers.

- - - - -

"Not _here_!" Colleen elbowed Sirius away from her as she bent over her homework in the Gryffindor common room.

"Why the hell not!?" Sirius demanded hotly.

She looked at him sharply. "There are _people_."

Sirius crossed his arms over his chest huffily and settled back into the couch. "A buncha bloody first years aren't gonna care…" he muttered grumpily.

Colleen ignored him. "Shouldn't you be doing your homework, anyway?" she asked.

Sirius grumbled something inappropriate about homework under his breath and stood up from the couch. He stomped off up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, but before he left, Colleen thought she caught a mumble of something coherent:

"You never _used_ to care that there were people around…"

She pretended she hadn't heard. Instead she hunkered over her homework and chanced a small, nearly silent sniffle before she pushed what he'd said out of her mind.

- - - - -

"Hey, Colleen!"

Colleen turned with a smile toward the familiar, still-high voice of Michael Sayers. It had been a while since she'd seen the scrawny third year, and it was somewhat of a comfort to know that her one confidant hadn't forgotten about her.

"Hiya, Michael," she greeted as her friends sitting around her at the table looked at the boy curiously. "What's up?"

Michael shrugged. "Not much. I was just wondering how you were feeling," he said, blinking subtly yet meaningfully at her. "I'm really sorry about running into you that day."

She smiled at him, grateful for his discreetness. "I'm doing good," she reassured him. "Don't worry. If there are any bad repercussions, I'll come and kill you. You'll know."

He laughed. "Okay, but I should warn you, I have illegal ninja moves. _Sayounara, _Colleen-_san_." He bowed to her and walked away in the direction of the Ravenclaw table.

"You're awfully chummy with him," observed Sirius darkly when Colleen turned back toward the others around the table.

She nodded. Upon noticing Sirius's bleak stare at his eggs, she chided, "Oh, come on, Sirius. You can't be jealous of _Michael_. He's a third year. He's even smaller than I am!"

At that moment, James spilled syrup over his entire plate, and Colleen laughingly offered to lick it clean for him. Then to everyone's astonishment, she grabbed the dish from in front of James, tilted it up, and let the syrup ooze into her mouth. The sounds of "ewww" and surprised laughter drowned out Sirius's answer to Colleen.

"But you smiled at him in five minutes more than you had in my presence for days."

Only one person heard it: Lily Evans.

- - - - -

"Oh, if only I could do that," said Colleen, good-naturedly rolling her eyes as Bergen flipped his wand as they walked along the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor.

"You want me to teach you?" he asked seriously, looking at her questioningly.

"Sure."

"Okay!" He seemed pleased that someone finally wanted to follow the Bergen way of life. "So, you hold it like this – "

"Colleen."

Colleen's head jerked up at the serious tone in her best friend's voice. Lily stood in the hallway, her arms crossed over her chest. Her red mane of hair bushed around her head, and her green eyes blazed furiously. "Colleen," she said tersely, "we need to talk."

Colleen looked hesitantly at her friend before nodding. "See you later, Bergen," she said.

"All right," he replied. "Later." He strolled off down the hallway, flipping his wand unnecessarily.

Lily eyed Colleen. "Okay, Colleen," she began hotly, her green eyes blazing with the heat of the confrontation. "Excuse my French, but what the _fuck_ is wrong with you lately?"

Colleen broke Lily's gaze and looked out the window down at the empty Quidditch pitch, longing to be down there at this moment. "What are you talking about, Lily? I'm fine."

"Yeah, see, no, you're not," Lily answered quickly, her breathing fast and angry. "You're obviously _not_ fine when you're completely ignoring Sirius, who is moping around like a lovesick puppy, and talking to Dennis Bergen, of all people."

"What's wrong with Bergen?" Colleen asked defensively.

Lily gave her a sharp look. "Is it absolutely necessary for me to answer that?" she inquired.

Colleen looked away again.

"Exactly." Lily took a deep breath, which seemed to do wonders for her temperament at the moment. "I'm worried about you, Colleen. I wish you'd tell me what was wrong."

"N-nothing's wrong…"

"COLLEEN!" cried Lily, startling the other girl. "Laugh in my face! Tell me to sod off! But don't stutter and tell me 'N-nothing's wrong'. Something absolutely _is_ wrong. Tell me."

Colleen said nothing. She only stared at the stone floors.

"Tell me. Tell me. Don't make me keep saying it. Tell m – "

"FINE!" Colleen exploded, jerking her head up from the floor, her eyes nearly burning holes in Lily's. "You really want to know? It's because I'm – _pregnant_." She spat out the last word like a curse.

Lily stared at her seething friend. The hallway was mercifully empty. Only the two girls stood there, staring at each other.

_Dong! Dong! Dong!_

The bell tolled for their next class. Both of them looked in the direction of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Then their gazes turned back to each other.

"Well," said Colleen, losing her defensive stance and seeming to smooth herself back into normality. "Shall we?"

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Long time in coming, no? I dislike this chapter, but that's okay. And I'm really sorry, but I'm too lazy to do responses to reviews right now. But I will do it in the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and will review. Thanks, you guys. Hearts.

_8-28-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	29. Comings and Goings in the Library

Change of Heart

**Change of Heart**

By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: There's a list of all the people I own at the end of this chapter.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Comings and Goings in the Library**

Sirius was upset. He wasn't sad; he wasn't pissed off; he was upset. It had been three weeks since the Quidditch match and Colleen had barely said a word to him. At least a serious word. And though Sirius hated to admit that it bothered him, there had been a definite deficit of touching and kissing and… sexing.

"GRARGH!" Sirius burst out, pounding his fist on the table so hard that the inkpot jumped and spilled over the lacquer of the library table. He ignored the spreading blackness and buried his face in his hands.

Remus was not startled by Sirius's outburst. He quietly whispered, _"Tergeo!"_ to siphon the ink off the table and looked at his friend sympathetically. Asking what was wrong would only send Sirius into a frenzy, so Remus remained silent, only eyeing him from behind his Arithmancy homework.

"It wouldn't be so bad if she weren't so bloody _cheerful_ all the time," muttered Sirius, not looking at Remus.

Remus stayed quiet.

"But she's always making _jokes_," continued Sirius, his voice muffled by his hands. "That's what really gets to me. And she's so goddamn _nice_ all the time. To everyone. _Everyone_. Even that one kid who ran into her. Sayers." He groaned. "It's not _fair_."

Remus nodded sympathetically, continuing the sums of his Arithmancy.

"I mean, don't you think there's something wrong, Remus?" he asked, fixing his friend with a deep gaze that Remus felt very bad about avoiding. _"Don't you?"_

Remus finally looked up at Sirius and met such a doleful stare that any words he could have said died in his throat, Instead, he only gave Sirius a sympathetic shrug. Sirius returned to burying his face in his arms.

The sound of footsteps behind Sirius drew Remus's attention. It was Colleen and someone else – a familiar Hufflepuff boy with black hair and a scar on his left cheek.

Colleen's and Remus's eyes met, and then Colleen noticed Sirius, whose back was to her. She tugged on the Hufflepuff's sleeve and pulled him out of sight behind the bookshelves.

Remus stared after them for a moment and then looked back at Sirius, whose hands had covered his face the entire time. He hadn't noticed at all.

Remus silently went back to his Arithmancy homework.

- - - - -

Colleen found the most secluded table in the library and flung her bag onto it with a guilty. Not like they were doing anything bad, she told herself. Just studying for the upcoming Divination final. Nothing really bad.

_Just that your boyfriend is back there and has no idea you're with another boy. Or that you're pregnant with his baby and have been ignoring him for the last three weeks. Yeah, you're a great person._

_I loathe myself._

She put her bag down on the library table and pulled out the Divination textbook. She sat down across the table from Bergen and flipped the book open to the right page. They were learning about dowsing rods.

"Okay, so, I'll quiz you about these," she said. "Sound good?"

"Sure," he replied easily.

"Alright. What were the ancient uses for – ?" She trailed off. Something was brushing her foot. She glanced quickly at Bergen, but he seemed to be listening intently to what she was asking. She shrugged it off. "Ancient uses for dowsing rods?" she finished.

"Uhm, searching for underground water," said Bergen.

"And…" Colleen prompted.

"And… determining the sex of unborn children?"

"Yes, and?"

He shrugged and laughed. "I'm out."

"And finding unmarked graves." She shook her head. "Always knew Divination was spooky stuff."

"Bergen," he agreed, flipping his wand.

"You're getting awfully good at that," she remarked.

"Yeah, you think?" He grinned and leaned across the table. "You think I'm good with my wand, O'Brian?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you must get an awful lot of time alone with it."

He laughed again. "You know, you're pretty funny for a girl."

"Aww, how touching! Pardon me while I blush with pleasure."

"Yeah, like that," he said, nodding. "You're sharp. I like it."

"Mm-hmm, and so does my boyfriend. Now let's put away our sexism and wand innuendoes and focus, shall we?" Again something brushed her, this time higher up on her leg. She ignored it. "What are the common rod shapes for water source dowsing?"

"Y-shaped or L-shaped."

"Right." Whatever it was slid further up her leg. Colleen shifted in her seat uncomfortably, crossing one leg over another. "So!" she shouted a little too loudly. "Since you seem confident in dowsing, why don't you quiz me?" She started to pass him the book.

Bergen grabbed her hand. She jumped. "O'Brian."

"Hm?" She looked up at him nervously.

He stared at her seriously. "I want you."

"Huh?"

And before she could do anything else, he had grabbed her at the nape of the neck and kissed her.

- - - - -

"Do you think she's cheating on me?" Sirius asked miserably of Remus.

The image of Colleen and the Hufflepuff boy flashed in front of Remus's eyes. He tried to push it away by doing his Arithmancy homework, but as soon as he looked into his best friend's desolate gray eyes, it was all he could see.

"I don't think Colleen's that kind of girl," he said through his teeth. But, he reasoned, he didn't know anything for sure. In fact, he was pretty certain Colleen wouldn't let anything happen between her and that scar-faced Hufflepuff.

For Sirius's sake, he hoped she wouldn't.

- - - - -

Colleen shoved him off of her, breathing heavily – angrily. "Just _what_ do you think you're doing?" she demanded shrilly. She hated the tone of her voice, but she was too upset to rein it in. "I have a _boyfriend_!"

"But you don't love him, do you?" Bergen asked, unruffled.

Colleen was taken horribly aback. "What!?" she nearly shrieked.

"Do you love him?" he inquired again.

"Oh, right, as if what you're looking for is true love, you perv," she spat.

He shrugged. "If you love him, it's cheating. If you don't, it's not."

Colleen stared at him in disgust. "I'll ignore your obviously skewed morals long enough to kick your oh-so-important 'wand,' and your crystal balls, too, if you don't get out of my face right now."

"All right, all right, I'm going." He held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "I'll leave you and your dearest alone, okay?"

"You'd better, if you know what's good for you," she growled.

"Hey, would you mind quieting it down over there?" called a voice from the next table over. A familiar head popped around the bookshelf. Bright, long-lashed eyes blinked at the two students.

"Lela," said Bergen in surprise, standing from his chair.

"Dennie," replied Lela Lyndall, just as shocked. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair, rumpling it just enough for it to fall in waves around her thin face. She glanced at Colleen distastefully and then looked back to Bergen. "What are you doing here?"

"He was just leaving," Colleen said, glaring at him. "And so was I."

"O'Brian – " Bergen began.

"Goodbye, Bergen," she said firmly. "'Bye, Lyndall." She brushed past the purple-eyed blonde and bustled out of the library.

Once she had gotten what she deemed a safe distance away from the library and the horrible awkwardness of it, she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Bergen's question echoed in her ears.

Did she love Sirius? Had she ever? She sighed. One thing was for sure. If she loved him, she would tell him about – _this_. Her fingers gripped her abdomen tightly. She almost wished she could just tear out her ovaries and be done with it all.

"This is a wonderful way to end my school career," she muttered.

"Coincidence?" came a cheerful voice from the hallway. "I think not!"

Colleen turned and found with delight that her greeter was Michael Sayers. He was with a few of his fellow third years, obviously heading to the library to study for imminent finals.

"Hey, Michael," she replied, noting the impressed look on his friends' faces that Sayers knew a seventh year.

"What's up?" he inquired, motioning for his awed friends to go on ahead.

"Bad things," she answered.

"Oh. Well, if you feel like talking, I'm always around…" Sayers offered helpfully. "I gotta study now, but I'll see you later, chica."

"Yeah, adios," said Colleen, waving off her friend. He saluted and hurried off after his friends.

When Sayers was out of earshot, Colleen's body sagged again, and she groaned.

- - - - -

"Sirius! Oh, Sirius!"

Sirius turned with an ill-disguised grimace toward the voice of Lela Lyndall, who was flouncing toward him and Remus. "What is it, Lela?" he sighed.

"Sirius!" she caught up to him, her chest heaving, apparently, with the effort of running after, although Sirius suspected it was only to draw attention to her breasts. "Oh, Sirius… I'm so sorry…"

"Why?" he asked, not really caring.

She gasped for breath for another few seconds before finally regaining her composure and standing up straight. "I just wanted to apologize for your breakup with O'Brian. I had no idea until just now."

"What are you talking about? Colleen and I didn't break up."

Lela let out a theatrical gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, dear! But if you didn't break up, then…"

Sirius glanced at Remus in exasperation. "Cut the theatrics, Lela," he said. "What's the problem?"

"I'm sorry," she finally continued, "but I saw O'Brian and Dennie kissing in the library!"

Remus's head jerked sharply toward Sirius, whose bored face had suddenly frozen; his eyes were wide, his mouth slightly parted. He silently berated himself for not doing anything when he saw Colleen. He'd given her the benefit of the doubt, but now he realized it wasn't his place to do so; it was Sirius's.

Sirius, who suddenly felt like the world had fallen out from beneath his feet. His mind had gone blank and begun to race at the same time. He stared at Lela in shock, which quickly turned to anger.

"You're lying," he said firmly, gritting his teeth. "Colleen wouldn't do that."

Lela shrugged. "Ask her, then, but she'll tell you the same thing. If she doesn't lie to you, that is. I just hope you'll realize who you can _count on_ after this. Buhbye, Sirius," she said in a singsong voice that made Sirius want to wring her neck. She flounced off down the hallway.

Sirius looked after her for a moment before turning to Remus. Remus stopped himself from gasping at the look of utter abandonment on Sirius's face. "You don't think she was telling the truth, do you?" he asked, pained.

Remus shrugged and averted his gaze. He wished he could say something, but for once, words eluded him.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Well, not exactly the most upbeat chapter, and lots of confusing character entrances and exits. But this is another in-between chapter. I'm trying to churn them out as quickly as I can before the inspiration leaves me, which you guys should appreciate. No James and Lily in this chapter, but they'll be at the beginning of the next one.

Reviews!

**DOJ** and **SCK all that's missing is U:** I'm glad you like Michael Sayers. He's based on a good friend of mine, but I wanted him to be younger, because my friend is kind of… not deep voiced yet… Which is really sad. **Sammy Solo:** The transitions not only were nonexistent, but the dashes between scenes disappeared in the upload! I replaced them, but yeah… I worked on that. **LJ Fan:** Thanks for the uplifting review! I appreciate it a lot. And I'm glad you forgive me my cheesy/cliché moments. (The computer just added the accent to 'cliché' on its own! Ooh, it did it again.) And I'm glad you like how I made Remus. **Elphie73:** Thank you! I proudly displayed that review to a friend of mine. I hope you review more. To **wudnulike2know, KerryBear, Shima And Tempis, Kat44, **and **Sirael:** You all will just have to wait to see how Sirius finds out… Probably five more chapters until the end, so you won't have that long to wait.

And to **milky way bar, animerocksjapanrocks, chocolatefroggie19, Mary, warrior of tortall, jessie xxx, sunlitmist, Smiles28, Georgie Gryffindor, spix, Amber Moons, mcmoose43988**, and everyone else who reviewed: Thank you for reviewing, guys! I love it.

Well, see y'all next time. Review, review, review!!

_6-01-08: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before._


	30. Caring Is Creepy

Change of Heart

**Change of Heart**

By Tempest Break

Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_ as I write this chapter or any of the upcoming chapters. This is the last disclaimer I'm doing.

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Thirty: Caring Is Creepy**

James figured he was pretty much the luckiest guy in the world. He was rich, smart, attractive, and had pretty much anything he had ever wanted and ever could want. And at that exact moment, a gorgeous redhead by the name of Lily Evans was pinned underneath him on his bed, kissing him passionately with those beautiful lips of hers.

Yeah, life was the best.

He pulled briefly away to look at her. He left his mouth resting on hers – he couldn't bear to completely separate. "I want a shirt that says, 'I heart Lily Evans'," he told her, smiling.

She grimaced. "Yeah, that wouldn't be nauseatingly cute at all," she said sarcastically.

"_You're_ nauseatingly cute, all right?" shouted James in mock anger. "That was an insult."

Lily laughed against James's mouth. "That one hurts."

"I know." He grinned and kissed her again. His fingers played over her side, slowly sliding her shirt higher up…

"Jaaaaaames!"

James pulled abruptly away from Lily. She blinked in surprise at him. It hadn't been her voice that had shouted his name. It was an obviously male voice, and it had come from his dresser. James glared at the offending magic mirror from whence Sirius's voice had called.

"James, please! I need to talk to you!"

James sighed and reluctantly left Lily. He picked up the mirror and ran his hand through his hair. "What is it, Sirius?"

Sirius's expression was distraught as he said haltingly, "Lela just – She just came – came up to me in the hallway, you know? Yeah. Yeah, the hallway outside the library. You know? Well, she came up to me, and she – Hahah, this is funny. She – she said that – hahahaha – that Colleen had – had cheated on me with – with Dennis Bergen! Haha! Isn't that funny, James? Isn't it funny?"

James's eyes widened. He glanced at Lily, who looked equally astonished. Sirius still rambled on in his anxious tone.

"Yeah! Funny, huh? Haha. Right?"

"Sirius," James said in concern, "are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay! I'm perfectly alright," Sirius said quickly. "I was just… She's lying, right?" This last was unnervingly serious.

James bit his lip. "I don't know, Sirius. It doesn't _sound_ like something Colleen would do – "

"Exactly!" laughed Sirius. "I didn't think so. Haha."

"But you should probably talk to her about it, don't you think?" James continued tentatively.

Sirius was silent. When he spoke again, he was much more subdued. "Yes. I do." Then his face disappeared from the mirror's surface.

James set the mirror down on the dresser and looked at Lily. She held out her arms to him, and he walked to them. "I love you," he muttered into her shoulder.

She rubbed circles in his back. "I love you, too," she answered. "I will never leave you."

- - - - -

Sirius slid the mirror under his bed and sighed. He wanted to talk to Colleen and dreaded seeing her at the same time. He left his bedroom and stopped at the top of the stairs. His feet wouldn't carry him farther. He almost turned back to his room, but he forced himself to continue the excruciating walk down the stairs to the common room.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to see Colleen there. On the one hand, it would be a relief to confront her about everything. But on the other, he kind of didn't want to fully acknowledge that something was wrong, even though it obviously was. He really just hoped that he was overreacting and nothing was wrong.

But he found with dismay that Colleen was in the common room, and she didn't seem to be occupied with much. She was only sitting in the corner in one of the squishy armchairs staring at the wall. Sirius found her utter stillness unnerving.

He approached her slowly, studying her. She hadn't noticed him so he was free to look at her. She seemed tired and worn, in a way that would be nearly unnoticeable to anyone other than Sirius. Her fingers were idly twisting her gray sweater-vest over her abdomen, her legs curled up next to her.

"Colleen," he said upon reaching her.

She snapped out of her reverie, looked up at him, and grinned, but forcibly, Sirius could tell. He hated it with a horrible passion. "Hey, what's going on?" she asked brightly, but her eyes were tired.

"Nothing, I was just…" He trailed off. He sighed, pulling up the nearest chair, which was wooden and uncomfortable. He shifted around in it, crossing one leg over the other and then switching, before he finally gave up trying to get comfortable. "Just thinking, I guess," he finally finished, his hands uncomfortably in his lap.

"Good thinking or bad thinking?" Colleen asked.

"Just… thoughtful thinking," replied Sirius, with a tentative grin. Colleen didn't laugh. She looked at him solemnly. Sirius looked back at her.

Suddenly he burst forward, leaning close to her. "What's wrong?" he demanded. "I know there's something the matter with you. You're so… so _distant_ and _forced_ and so _bloody cheerful_! I'm worried about you and Lela Lyndall told me you cheated on me with Bergen and I can't stand the thought and I don't think you did but I don't know what to do!" He nearly wailed this last part, burying his face in his hands and resting his elbows on his knees.

Colleen looked at him in sad alarm. She hesitantly reached out a hand – when had she ever been hesitant about touching Sirius? – and placed it on his shoulder comfortingly. She couldn't think of anything to say, but she hoped he appreciated the gesture.

"I think this is the first time you've touched me in weeks," he muttered into his hands.

Colleen's stomach churned. She hated the note of despair in his voice. She clenched her hand on his shoulder more tightly, but she still couldn't find any words.

"It's not – true – is it?" he asked haltingly, looking up at her. "What Lela told me. It's wrong, right?"

She hated having to look away, but she didn't want to meet his eyes right then. They were too horribly vulnerable for the barb she carried. She absolutely couldn't lie to him, even though he was practically asking her to with that look.

"I didn't cheat on you," she finally said, glancing at Sirius. She could see in his eyes that his heart had soared. "But Bergen did kiss me." She braced herself for his crushed look –

– But instead of drooping his eyes blazed furiously. "That guy's lips touched yours?" he shouted, enraged. "I'll murder him!" He flew from his seat, ready to find Bergen wherever he was, to tear him limb from limb.

"Sirius!" she exclaimed. "Calm down – and _sit_ down." She pulled him down by his arm. His possessiveness scared her, when she had begun feeling more and more distant from him. He still thought of her as _his_ girlfriend, whose lips were no one else's to touch. It was almost as though _he_ had been the one violated in the library – and Colleen, whose indignation did not even begin to touch Sirius's rage, felt as though he were even claiming her reactions as his.

"Sorry," he said, breathing loudly. "It just bothers me."

Colleen offered a weak smile, hiding her rising distaste for this conversation. "It's okay," she replied, playing with the hem of her gray sweater-vest.

There was a short silence, before Sirius came to another realization. He inhaled hesitantly before saying, "But… there's another reason you're off. What's wrong?"

She subconsciously pressed her fingertips onto her stomach. "Nothing," she responded out of habit.

"_Bullshit!"_ he burst out, startling her. "That's not true, and you know it. I have a right to know. I _am_ your boyfriend, after all. You've got to tell me, we're going out. We share everything, right? So tell me."

Colleen hated the words Sirius was stringing together. The reasons she needed to tell him when that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Sirius, I can't tell you," she murmured.

"But I'm your boyfriend," he persisted. "You _have_ to tell me."

"Why do I _have_ to tell you?" she asked, her voice rising warningly. She fixed him in a hard, sideways gaze.

"Because you're my girlfriend! We're supposed to share everything."

"Just drop it, Sirius – "

"No! I can't do that. You mean too much to me, Colleen, you have to tell me. It hurts me too much not to know."

"And what about how much it would hurt _me_ to tell you?" she answered, nearly yelling now.

"It should make you feel _better_ to tell me!" Sirus insisted. The first years were turning to look at them, and Colleen tried to ignore them. "What's mine is yours! Your secrets are my secrets! You're my g – "

"Oh, go away!" she exploded, standing from her chair. She planted her feet on the floor and loomed over him. "Go away and leave me alone. If I have to tell you because I'm your girlfriend then maybe I _shouldn't_ be anymore!" She spun on her heel and headed toward the stairwell to the girls' dormitory.

The blood drained from Sirius's face. "No!" he shouted, bolting after her. He grabbed for her arm but she wrenched it out of his grasp. "Colleen, no, please. Don't do this. It's fine, really. You don't have to tell me." His voice was frantic.

"Sirius, this conversation is over. I'm leaving."

"No, I won't let you!" Colleen's eyes blazed at him before she hurried away. Sirius grabbed for her and caught her leg, which she tried to jerk away. His hands slid down to her shoe, which wriggled off her foot with their dual insistence.

"You can't leave, I've got your shoe!" he exclaimed, holding the shoe triumphantly.

Colleen stared at him with a mixture of fury, sadness, and pity. He realized how ridiculous his waving her shoe was. She stood there in one stocking foot, looking at him, before she said:

"Sirius, I think it's over."

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** This is extremely short, too, but I wanted to get out another chapter before the night was over, and I'm losing interest, and if I stop now, I'll never finish. That's because I'm lame.

But anyway, I finally wrote the scene I was waiting for for a LONG time. You guys won't be happy with it, but it's nearly the end of the year, and as you know, Sirius doesn't have a happy ending. This will probably end up incongruous when the book comes out, but it doesn't matter. I'm intent on finishing this story no matter what (the hope that I'll finish before the book's release seems unlikely), even if I have to label it "AU". So don't worry—you'll find out what happens.

Now for some reviews. **So Desperately Obvious:** Well, Colleen seems pretty adamant about not telling, doesn't she? **Kat44:** Sirius wouldn't break up with Colleen, as you saw in this chapter. But you were right about the breaking up, so congrats. **Aimz16:** Wow, thank you. I'm very pleased that you think I rock. **Chocolatefroggie19:** James and Lily have basically been going about their happy lives. They don't seem to have many pitfalls, so there's no real reason to discuss their relationship, except to bring them back (they are supposedly the main characters, after all). In answer to your question: Lily would have tried to get Colleen to talk about it, but would have only gotten the barest details. Besides that, there's nothing much to be said about it. **KerryBear:** I'm glad you feel so strongly about Lela. She's meant to be a total bitch. **Haiga:** If it's not normal, than I must be out of the norm, too, because I love heartbreak. Heh… it's pretty weird, I guess, but it makes it more interesting, huh? **Lochnessie:** Or should I say **ashesinfinity**? Thanks for all your reviews! I love people who come back. I really appreciate it. Just wanted to let you know. **DJSlipperyFeet:** You should know that your review nagged me for the longest time. I kept thinking, "Wow, has it really been since April 28? That's absurd. I should update." As you can see, eleven days after you posted it, I updated. Thanks for getting me off my lazy ass.

Also to **sunlitmist, LJ Fan** (a recurring reviewer—thanks!)**, Shima and Tempis** (another longtime reviewer—love ya), **jsas, animerocksjapanrocks** (once again—wow, I have a lot), **wudnulike2know, urban brat, nilepharaohess, Jessie xxx, warrior of tortall, katie** (that's my name, too—I was so confused when I got the review), **kittysam220, milky way bar** (recurring reviewer!), **Amber Moons, StarRuby, Katie** (once again—confused), **MyPOV, Smiles28, lillyskywalker3, **and **pixi child:** A thousand thanks for your reviews. Everyone contributes and I love it. Thank you SO much. I'm trying for 1000 with this chapter—I hope you guys return to review!

Review, review, review!

_8-28-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before!_


	31. Social Claustrophobia

Change of Heart

**Change of Heart**

By Tempest Break

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Thirty-One: Social Claustrophobia**

Colleen felt horrible. Her insides had shriveled up into nothingness, leaving behind a hollow void, wherein she could see only Sirius's stunned expression, unmoving, like a Muggle photograph.

"But really, what could I have done?" she wondered aloud. She was the only one in her room, so she didn't have to worry about being overheard. She flopped herself face down on her bed and buried her head under her pillow.

She didn't react well under pressure – at least, not social pressure. She performed perfectly under the gaze of hundreds of Hogwarts students when on the Quidditch pitch, but such confrontations as had just occurred were the bane of her existence, lately in particular. The hormone levels in her brain were reaching weird levels and she overreacted to almost everything.

She didn't hate Sirius. Not really. The feeling had passed. She had gotten riled up and lashed out at him. What she _did_ hate was his possessiveness and his neediness and his goddamn _adoration_ of her.

"I don't want to be adored," she spat testily. "I just want to be left the hell alone."

She rolled onto her back and looked up at the red canopy of her bed. She hadn't wanted to hurt Sirius. She really liked him a lot. But the tenseness of the three weeks since she had – _found out_ – had gotten to her. She could hardly spend time with _Lily_, her best friend, before Lily's personality crushed Colleen's self-esteem and hampered her freedom. She sought time alone more often than she had in her life.

She sighed. "No, that's not true, I don't _want_ to be left alone. I _should_ be left alone, I'm so cruel."

She understood full well that it was unfair to do this to Sirius without warning. She wondered if it was unfair to herself, too. She doubted Sirius would reject her if he knew she was pregnant. He would probably be overjoyed and throw away all recollection of the fight. But she was too proud, too deeply entrenched in her solitude now. She hated sharing her secrets with others. "Socially claustrophobic," she called it.

Something slightly pointy dug itself into her arm. She reached for it and pulled out a piece of cardboard paper. It was Ichabod Ingelbert's card, the man from the British Quidditch Industry. It had his address and any other needed information.

The card was, essentially, the answer to her problems. She wouldn't need money if she went into the Quidditch business. She would be doing something she loved. She wouldn't have to burden her already bogged-down father.

Sirius's hurt face resurfaced in her mind, and she groaned and rolled onto her side so she faced the wall.

"I want to drown myself in a puddle," she muttered.

- - - - -

The next morning, it was no secret that Colleen and Sirius had broken up. The whole of Gryffindor House knew about it, and all of the students' friends, as well. James had received a broken and sobbing message from Sirius via the magic mirror. Lily, however, hadn't spoken to Colleen yet, and she was reminded of the secret Colleen had told her the other day. She wondered if that had anything to do with Colleen's leaving Sirius, though from what she could tell, he had acted a little irrationally.

"Well, I don't think stealing her shoe was a good move," James had said over the mirror.

"Yes, I realize that _now_," Sirius had replied sadly. "I gave it back. She took _it_ back, but she wouldn't take me…"

"Maybe you should let her calm down and then talk to her rationally about it," James had suggested. "No shoe-stealing."

Sirius had rolled his red and swollen eyes but agreed that it was probably a good idea.

So after sleeping on it, Sirius had woken up early to talk to Colleen again, making sure he was subdued enough to speak without becoming frantic and needy again.

He couldn't think of anywhere they could talk without being in the presence of several other people, so he decided on sending her a message by owl. Drawing his robes around him in the cold hallways, he trekked down to the Owlery and scribbled a note. He handed it to a brown school owl with instructions to give it to Colleen during breakfast.

By the time he finished in the Owlery, most of the students had gathered in the Great Hall for breakfast. Remus was already down there with Peter, and Sirius took a seat next to the werewolf.

Ever since their little confrontation, Remus had taken it upon himself to keep an eye on Peter. He tried to make him feel welcome in all situations. He spent as much time as he possibly could, between studying for his many finals, with the mousy boy. Peter seemed to have gotten better, too. But every now and then, Remus would be unable to find the fat little boy for a night. He worried.

Last night when news had reached Remus and Peter of Sirius and Colleen's breakup, Remus had watched the boy from the corner of his eye. Peter's face hadn't changed much, but his eyes had lit up as Jake Bell related the details to them.

Seeing Sirius's haggard face at breakfast made Remus dislike Peter's glee even more. The mousy boy spoke with alacrity and eagerness this morning, buttering his toast with true delight and tucking into the breakfast. Sirius remained despondent. Remus looked on in distaste.

"So I guess you heard, huh?" Sirius said finally, his chin resting on his palm.

"Sure did," said Peter around a mouthful of biscuit. He swallowed quickly and continued, "Jake Bell came and told us all about it last night."

Remus cut in: "We're both awfully sorry, Padfoot. Is there anything we could do?"

"I'm trying to handle it by myself," he replied.

Remus cringed at the thought of Sirius "handling it by himself," but he shrugged and resigned himself to letting his friend do just that.

Students began filing into the Great Hall. James and Lily joined the three boys, pretending not to notice Sirius's depression and untouched breakfast.

"Um, excuse me?" came a voice from behind Sirius. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw James look up at the voice's owner and grimace. "Do you know where O'Brian is?" continued the voice.

Sirius turned to find a distastefully familiar countenance standing behind him. Bile rose in Sirius's throat and he bolted to his feet. He loomed over the scarred boy, all of his despondence quickly morphing into anger.

"And what would _you_ be wanting with Colleen, Bergen?" he demanded.

Bergen looked startled by Sirius's actions. "I just wanted to talk to her…"

"Well, I don't know what 'talking' means in _your_ book," spat Sirius acridly, "but in mine it doesn't involve forcing yourself on someone's girlfriend."

_Ex-girlfriend,_ his mind reminded him, but that only further incensed him.

Bergen blanched at the mention of this. "I actually wanted to talk to her about that – "

"If you lay a _finger_ on her – "

"Sirius…" James said warningly.

" – I'll see to it that that finger is torn off your hand!"

"Black, I don't really think you should – " Bergen began.

Sirius's anger finally bested him. Before he could do anything, his arm hauled back and his fist flew, catching Bergen straight in the nose.

The shorter boy stumbled backward into the Ravenclaw table, falling into some underclassmen, one of whom was Michael Sayers. Bergen wobbled to his feet, holding his right hand over his nose. Sirius could see blood oozing between the cracks of his fingers.

"SIRIUS – BLACK!"

Sirius turned toward the voice, his rancor already waning and his knuckles smarting from the contact with bone. Colleen stood at the entrance to the Great Hall. Her eyes blazed with fury.

She whisked down the aisle toward Sirius and Bergen. Upon reaching the two of them, she shot Sirius a look and went to help Bergen. "Are you all right?" she asked him.

Bergen nodded out of manly pride, though it was obvious he was in a lot of pain.

"Michael." Colleen turned to the Ravenclaw boy. "Could you help Bergen up to the Infirmary, please?"

Sayers, shocked, agreed with a nod of his head and quickly aided Bergen in walking out of the Great Hall.

As Colleen turned back to Sirius, Professors McGonagall and Ares had already swept up to the two of them.

"Just _what _is going on here?" McGonagall demanded of Sirius and Colleen. "Why did you hit Dennis Bergen, Mister Black?"

"He has no excuse, Professor," cut in Colleen, still glaring daggers at Sirius. "Please punish him as you see fit. I'm done with him." She shot one last glance at him before stalking out of the Great Hall.

McGonagall turned her attention to Sirius once again. "I can't imagine what provoked you to attack Mister Bergen. It pains me to do this so close to the end of school, but I'm afraid I must dock Gryffindor fifty points and assign you detention for the remainder of the school year."

"But Professor!" James burst out. "That will put us behind Slytherin in the House Cup running!"

The professor looked at him sadly. "So be it," she answered with resignation. "Mister Black, report to my classroom tonight for detention."

"I will, Professor," replied Sirius, hanging his head. The two older women took leave of the castigated young man.

Sirius stalled a moment before turning and dashing down the aisle after Colleen.

"Sirius!" James shouted, but it was too late: he had already left the Great Hall.

James shook his head. "Nothing he does is a good idea."

- - - - -

Upon reaching the hallway, Sirius stopped and whirled his head each way to see if he could find Colleen. He heard footfalls to the right, heading toward the Infirmary, and he bolted after them.

As he rounded the corner, he caught sight of Colleen heading up the stairway. He finally reached her, passed her, and planted himself on the landing above her.

Colleen glared at him. "Get out of my way, Sirius."

"No," he said stubbornly.

"This isn't helping you any, you know," she replied warningly. "I'm not going to take you back just because you've chased after me after decking Bergen, who did nothing to you personally and who, although he's an immoral lout, doesn't seem to know much better – and who you had no business doing anything to in the first place! I'm not your girlfriend anymore, Sirius. You can't fight battles for me any longer – not that you could in the first place."

"I'm not trying to get you to take me back," Sirius answered deferentially, trying not to be frantic. "I just wanted to… to apologize."

Colleen raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing.

"Apologize for how I've behaved myself last night and this morning," he continued. "I really am sorry… and I can understand if you never want to lay eyes on me again."

Colleen bit her lip. As much as she hated his behavior, she really did like Sirius a lot. She couldn't help forgiving him, but she was still angry.

"Apology accepted," she said grudgingly, her arms crossed over her chest. "Now I really do need to check on Bergen, so if you'll excuse me…"

Sirius politely stepped out of Colleen's way and watched her ascend half of the next staircase before shouting: "I love you!"

Colleen stopped but didn't turn around. She was completely still for a moment before she silently continued up the stairs.

With a sigh, Sirius left and headed back to the Great Hall. Colleen watched him walk away as she leaned over the stone banister of the staircase. She sniffed and rubbed at her eyes before continuing on to the Infirmary.

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest: **I think the next chapter is the last one. After that there is an epilogue (which I've already written—it's exceedingly short). Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this story, as it's winding down. The next chapter will only be graduation and stuff. I'm extremely proud that I've gotten more than 1000 reviews. Thank you, everyone.

Now I will respond.

**Arissta Kequet, sunlitmist, warrior of tortall, haiga, tuxedo cat, **and **Shima And Tempis:** I'm glad you guys felt bad for Sirius. I also hope you understand why Colleen broke up with him. **So Desperately Obvious:** I'm glad you thought the scene was well written. My favorite part is the shoe part, which incidentally I stole from _Friends_. **Wudnulike2know** and **starburstweetie:** Yes! You guys are right! Sirius DOESN'T have a happy ending. That's why I'm not giving him one. I can't just completely go against what JKR has written. Gosh.

Special one to **FallenMystery,** who hasn't yet reviewed chapter 30, but started reading the story when I posted it. Thank you for reviewing every single chapter. I really appreciate it, especially because it really boosted my review count. Thanks.

Also to **animerocksjapanrocks, Sirael, sum1strange, LJ Fan, Amber Moons, Phillippa of Phoenix, chocolatefroggie19, Kat44, jsas, **and **??** (if that is your REAL name): Thank you all for reviewing. Only two more chances to do so after this chapter. (sniff) How sad.

Anyway, review, review, review!!

_6-01-08: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoyed it more than before._


	32. Above All Else

Change of Heart

Change of Heart

By Tempest Break

- - - - - - - - -

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Above All Else**

James adjusted his cap in the mirror. It was a traditional wizard's cap – tall and pointy, and crimson with gold piping: Gryffindor colors. They matched his perfectly hemmed robes. His family had paid for him to look immaculate on graduation day, and it had finally come.

"You look magnificent," remarked the mirror.

"Thanks," replied James, throwing it a grin.

"James!" Lily called, pounding on the door to his room. "Come on! We've got to be there early, you know!"

James attached his Head Boy badge to his robes and rubbed it with his sleeve. It still shone as it had on the Hogwarts Express the first day of term. "I know, Lily," he replied. "I'm almost ready."

"Well, hurry up. Dumbledore said to be there at half-past the hour and we've only got five minutes – _four_ minutes!" she insisted.

James chuckled at his girlfriend's anxiety and decided not to upset her any longer. He opened the door just as she was raising her hand to knock again. Lily's Gryffindor cap perched perfectly on her head and her Head Girl badge gleamed over her heart.

"It's about time," she said, folding her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry, darling," he replied with a grin. He tapped her nose lightly, and she rolled her eyes tolerantly at him.

"I hope you've prepared fully for today," Lily continued, following James into the common room. "Did you write a speech? It's expected of the Head Girl and Boy, but it's not necessary. But you can't exactly go against tradition. I mean, really. I wrote one. It's not too long – only a foot and a half in parchment. I had to cut a lot out of it…"

James turned to look at Lily, who was unfolding a long bit of parchment she'd taken out of her sleeve. She was reading over it again while rattling on about it to James.

"Lily." She looked up at him. James placed a finger on her lips. "Shhh. It's okay. I've got a speech."

Lily looked infinitely relieved. "I love you," she sighed.

"Likewise." James kissed her mouth quickly. "We're almost done with this school."

Lily looked around ruefully. "I'll miss this tower. It was nice."

"We can furnish our house like this, if you like," James said offhandedly as he turned back toward the exit of the tower.

"Our… house?" Lily asked incredulously, rushing after James as he left the tower.

"Well you don't expect me to just let you go off, now, do you?" James inquired as they walked briskly toward the Great Hall. "After all these years I've finally got hold of you. I'm not going to let you go just because we've left Hogwarts."

Lily snorted. "It sounds like you just think of me as a thing," she muttered.

James whirled on her, startling Lily. "Far from it, my love," he murmured. "After all" – he slowly fell to his knees, fishing something out of his pocket; Lily raised an eyebrow at him – "would I ask a thing to marry me?"

Lily's hands flew to her mouth as James opened a small, red velvet box, and she saw the illustrious, sparkly engagement ring nestled on a satin pillow. The diamond twinkled up at her.

"Lily Evans, will you marry me?"

Lily looked James in the eye. He had never been more earnest. He was wearing his heart on his sleeve at this moment – everything rested on her response. Her green eyes brimmed with tears.

"Of course I'll marry you, James," she answered, and she hesitated for only a split second before throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder.

James grinned into the crook of Lily's neck and said, "Don't worry, Lily. I'll make sure we're the happiest people in the history of forever."

"Mission accomplished," she laughed.

- - - - -

James and Lily reached the Great Hall about five minutes after the time Dumbledore had originally asked them to be there. They still had ten minutes before the doors were opened to the rest of the school, and another fifteen before the ceremony actually began, so they were hardly "late." However, Lily still opened the conversation by apologizing furiously to Professor McGonagall, who was supervising the finishing touches that some prefects were putting on the decorations of the Great Hall.

"It's quite all right, Miss Evans, quite all right," McGonagall assured the nervous girl. "The work is nearly finished, so you needn't worry yourself about anything. Just look over your speeches for the next few minutes, and open the doors when it is time."

James spent the next ten minutes watching Lily anxiously scan her speech for the graduation ceremony. His own speech wasn't nearly as long as hers—only about six inches—but he was confident that it would go over well. As much deflating as his head had done in the past year, he was still self-confident, if only in private.

"Open the doors, if you please, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans," McGonagall requested.

_She won't be "Miss Evans" for much longer, _James thought smugly as he helped Lily to heave the huge double-doors open. A group of more than a hundred students and parents strode into the Great Hall and took up seats facing the teachers' table, where there was a podium that was magicked to amplify the speaker's voice.

"Please, take your seats," said Dumbledore, standing at the podium. He gestured with sweeping arms to the house tables. "The ceremony will begin shortly."

In the fifteen minutes before the clock struck noon, James caught sight of several of his fellow classmates and their parents. There was Sirius with his favorite cousin, Andromeda, her husband, Theodore, and their five-year-old daughter. They were next to Remus and his tired mother, with her drooping eyelids and lifeless blonde hair, and Peter and his two stout parents. James waved to his own mother and father, who were older than most, getting on in years. His mother looked infinitely proud of him. A bit farther down the table sat Colleen and her Muggle father – a bright-looking, red-haired chap with freckles – along with four other children, all with freckles and blue eyes. They seemed to be laughing and looking around excitedly – all of them were Muggles.

"You nervous?" James asked Lily, who was sitting to his right at the table.

"About speaking or graduating?" she inquired under her breath, still looking over the long roll of parchment before her.

"Both."

"Yeah."

James smiled supportively at her. He took her left hand in his right and took great pride in the sparkly engagement band on her ring finger. "You'll do great," he told her. "I guarantee it."

Then Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly. It was all the incentive the families needed to silence themselves.

The Headmaster smiled welcomingly at them all. "Thank you all for coming to the Class of 1978's graduation ceremony. It means a great deal to your son, daughter, other relation, or friend that you are here. It is, after all, the culmination of all of their efforts for these past seven years. It's a great accomplishment to finish at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I hope you all appreciate the great difficulty they've gone through.

"And now, without further ado, here are the Head Boy and Girl, James Potter and Lily Evans, to say a few short words about their experiences here at Hogwarts."

Amidst applause, Lily stood from her seat and walked to the podium. Dumbledore gave her an encouraging wink as he relinquished the position to her.

"Hello. I'm Lily Evans." She paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then began her speech. "When I first came to Hogwarts, I had no idea what I was getting into. Having come from a non-magic family, I was probably one of the less-prepared students on the very first day. That's how I felt, anyway." She made an apprehensive face, seeming remember stepping off the Hogwarts Express the very first day.

"To my surprise and delight, I found a welcoming and familial atmosphere. From the moment I first saw Professor Dumbledore's face, I knew that I was safe and secure here. The other teachers, too, I learned to be consistent and trustworthy. They've taught me everything I've needed for my classes, and probably some life lessons, too.

"We've gone through some hard times this past year, what with the rise of the Dark Lord and his followers. In February, one of my closest friends, Selena Silver, died of a long illness. She would have graduated today along with the rest of us. I'm sure she's here in spirit…."

"_Yeah, she is!" _shouted Colleen from where she sat with her family. Sirius let out a small whoop of agreement, and Remus clapped, a small smile playing around his lips.

Lily grinned at her friends. "But, as you can see, my other friends helped me get through that. We helped_ each other_ get through that. And we've been all the stronger.

"Now, I know this is waxing long," she admitted, with a knowing look at the audience. James glared at Mathias Avery for letting out a rude yawn. "But I guess what I'm trying to say is…

"The best lessons I've ever learned, I learned here, at Hogwarts. The best adventures I've ever had, I had here, at Hogwarts. And the best friends I've ever met, I met here. At Hogwarts." She nodded quickly and rolled up her parchment.

Colleen burst into applause, followed shortly by Sirius and Remus, and then by the rest of the audience. Colleen put her fingers to her lips and whistled piercingly.

"Thank you," said Lily, beaming at their friends as she stepped from the podium.

James gave her a quick hug as he passed her. "What did I tell you?" he whispered into her ear. "You were great."

"Yeah, James!"

"Kill 'em, Prongs!"

James was used to the catcalls and cheers, and he usually received them with a smile, but this time, he raised his hand for silence. He wanted to show that this was going to be a serious speech – none of the flippant usual stuff.

"I'm afraid I'm not as good with words as Lily is," he said, shooting a smile over his shoulder at his now-fiancée, who blushed crimson. "But I hope you'll give me a break for this short piece."

James cleared his throat dramatically and started. "My name is James David Potter. I'm known throughout the school as a troublemaker, the ringleader of the Marauders. For six years, I spent my life causing trouble for others and nearly escaping expulsion.

"This year, I've changed. My head has 'deflated', if you will. I've stopped making mischief, even though the urge is still there. I think that—if you'll let me say so—I've matured. And for me, that's saying something.

"In this short speech, I just wanted to let everyone know that, even though I did it for a certain person, it's _because_ of everyone that I've been able to do it. Dumbledore, McGonagall… Lily and Sirius, Remus and Peter, Colleen and Selena… everyone, even those I'm not so fond of." He saw Avery and Jugson exchange glances. Snape, he thought, nodded imperceptibly at James, returning the sentiment. "Everyone, absolutely everyone helped me. So, thank you, everyone, and goodbye." James smiled as he stepped back from the podium.

The audience exploded into applause. Even James's enemies grudgingly clapped, as they were almost clapping for themselves.

James again took his seat next to Lily, who smiled at him. He was surprised to see the glossy sheen of tears in her green eyes. "What?" he whispered, taking her hand again. "It wasn't that touching…"

"I know," she answered quietly. "It's just that… we're done with school. I can't believe it."

James nodded in agreement, and turned to listen as McGonagall said a few words before handing out diplomas to all of the graduating students amid applause from the audience of friends and family members.

At the end of the ceremony, Dumbledore clapped his hands, and a buffet materialized on the tables in front of the family members.

James and Lily stepped down from the raised platform to be level with the rest of the audience, and immediately Lily was enveloped by a huge, dual hug from two Muggles—her parents.

"Congratulations, darling," said a woman with Lily's green, almond-shaped eyes.

"We're so proud of you," agreed a tall, thick-haired man. Next to him stood an unpleasant-looking, horse-faced young woman who had her arms crossed over her bony chest. She didn't look a bit proud of Lily.

"Thanks, Mum and Dad," said Lily, beaming at the two of them. She caught James by the sleeve and pulled him over. "This is James Potter, whom I've told you so much about."

"I gathered." Lily's mother smiled widely at him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Evans," said James, shaking her hand gently. "And you, sir," he continued to Lily's father, taking his hand and shaking heartily.

"Likewise," answered Mr. Evans jovially. "We've heard a great deal about you, James."

"Good things, I hope!" laughed James, shooting a glance at Lily, who looked a bit embarrassed to have been caught talking about James to her parents.

"Ja-ames!"

James turned with a wide grin toward the voice. It was his own mother and father. His mother gave him a tender hug and his father shook his hand. They quickly struck up a conversation with the Evanses, though, leaving James and Lily to wander the room alone.

"I think we ought to withhold the news of the engagement from my parents for a bit," said Lily in an undertone as she and James strolled toward the buffet table. "I mean, they only just met you. I'd like to give them a chance to get to know you before springing that on them."

"I completely understand," said James magnanimously. "Don't worry, Lily." He dropped a light kiss on her forehead. "I'll wait as long as you see fit."

"Thank you…"

"There you are, James, you little sneak! Ha-ha!" Suddenly Sirius had thrown his arm around James's shoulder. In his other hand he waved a bottle of butterbeer he'd bought from the Three Broomsticks the previous week. Remus and Peter had appeared, too. "I was really touched, man! You're welcome! Ha-ha-ha!"

James laughed along with Sirius and looked at the group that had suddenly accumulated around him and Lily.

Remus flashed a small, rare smile at James, which James returned. "Well done, James," Remus said quietly.

"Thanks."

"Hey, guys," said Colleen, sidling up to them. "Good job, James, Lily." She shot a glance at Sirius, whose face fell a bit at her appearance. "I just really wanted to say that… I love all you guys, ya know? This is a happy day, and… I love you guys." She looked at each of them in turn, ending on Sirius, whose arm was still slung around James's neck.

There was a short silence before Sirius shouted: "C'mere, you!" and he leapt on Colleen, ruffling her blonde hair violently. James and Lily followed suit, engulfing Colleen in a huge hug as she protested and Remus laughed at the sight.

And James realized while he was laughing along with his friends for that day that he was in for at least some happiness in the years to come. And he resolved that, however long or short those years may be, he would make sure they were at least filled with love and joy and, above all else, friends.

_The end._

- - - - - - - - -

**Tempest:** Well, that's the end of the main story. There's still an epilogue to come, but I've already written it, so this is technically the end of my writing this story. I have admittedly mixed feelings about this being the end. I mean, it's been over two years since I started this story… seems like even longer. I never thought I'd finish such a tale, but it seems I did. To my delight, upon reading the sixth book, I found that my story still stuck relatively to canon. The only discrepancy was that Slughorn was the Potions Master at this time and not my OC, Charon, as in earlier chapters, but that's fine.

On another note, the ending with Colleen saying she loves everyone: Well, she does. In a platonic way. I hope you guys didn't think it was romantic, as it wasn't intended that way. I hope I made that clear…

Wow. It's over. My longest and most widely-read story. Whew. Now for some reviews.

**Spix:** It wasn't really slowing the story down, because it was never going to be resolved. Didn't you realize? **Haiga:** Yep, sorry. No S/C, because, well, Sirius never mentions her, does he? I suppose it's a good reason not to talk about her. She kind of broke his heart, after all. **Anne:** She's of course not going to play while she's pregnant. She'll have the baby (in early January) and then after she's comfortable enough to play again, will do so, probably the following season. Don't worry. To **IrishChaos:** I'm sorry you hate Colleen, but oh well, must be done. Your review was a bit discouraging, because you seemed to have a lot of complaints, and then declared that my story "rocked monkey socks." Le sigh. **Some Random Reviewer:** I'm awfully sorry you dislike Colleen. She's going through rough times, and I had to make her a bitch for the purposes of the last few chapters. She kind of redeemed herself in this one, but, well, readers aren't the most forgiving, are we? **Megisroo:** I'm exceptionally pleased with your review. I know it's not exactly fair of Colleen not to tell Sirius, but to follow canon, I can't exactly have her do that, can I? Anyway, you'll see in the epilogue… And, no, I don't intend to do a sequel. Doesn't exactly work, as within a few years James and Lily will be killed…

And to **sunlitmist, animerocksjapanrocks, LJ Fan, chocolatefroggie19, molly, Randomisation, luckichrm, Shima And Tempis, Amber Moons, jsas, WhiteCamellia, -Lily Evans 4 life-, Snowflake Prongsette, jdjdhjdhj, Slytherin's Cliffy Queen, Mrs-John-Cena/Stepha-Lah, dragonchick29, JPotter101, FallenMystery, StarRuby, Kat44** (I saw you added me to your C2 community—sweet)**, Aimz16, and xxjamesxx:** Thank you all infinitely for reviewing the second-to-last chapter. I love you all and hope you return to review again.

Anyway, since this is basically the last chance you'll get to do so… REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!

—End notes—

_6-01-08: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoyed it more than before._


	33. Epilogue

Change of Heart

**Epilogue**

Azkaban. A towering compound in the middle of the ocean, icy-cold, mountainous waves crashed against the black walls of the prison every minute. Hundreds of inmates groaned in agony at every moment in that hellhole as the infamous guards stalked the corridors, their unseen fingers piercing the prisoners' minds and sending them into nightmares.

The only sound outside a certain inmate's cell was the crisp noise of footfalls in the stone hallway. Two men, who looked distinctly out of place in the abysmal setting of Azkaban Fortress, strode down the corridor, one studying a copy of the _Daily Prophet_.

"A shame, really," muttered one of them, a stout man wearing a lime-green bowler hat. "You'd think now that You-Know-Who's gone, we wouldn't have to deal with such tragedies anymore."

The second man, who had jet-black hair that was quickly graying, looked at the first stiffly. "You can hardly compare a Quidditch accident to the atrocities He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named committed."

"True, true," conceded the one with the bowler hat. "But come, now, Barty. You must admit she _was_ fantastic." And with one last, pitying look at the front page of the newspaper, he threw it aside and followed the other man down the long corridor.

Once the footsteps had died out, an emaciated hand slipped in between the iron cell bars, grasping at the newspaper the man had tossed down. The bony fingers closed around the paper and pulled it back through the bars.

Sirius Black unfolded the _Daily Prophet_ to see the front page. The headline shocked him.

_STAR QUIDDITCH PLAYER TAKES DIVE_

_By Norma Curtis_

_Staff Writer_

_Last Sunday, April 6th, in a game versus the Appleby Arrows, Colleen O'Brian of the Holyhead Harpies was struck by a Bludger and fell two hundred feet to her death._

_The young witch was only twenty-four years old. O'Brian had attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and was a good friend of such famous people as the late James and Lily Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and the incarcerated Sirius Black. _

_The game halted upon her fall, and the Mediwitches rushed to her side, but no amount of magic can bring back the dead. O'Brian had multiple abrasions and broken bones, as well as severe head trauma, as the Bludger had caught her by the side of the head. It is suspected that she was dead before she even hit the ground, because upon further inspection, the Mediwitches found her skull cracked in several places._

_Her fellow teammates, though sobbing and broken, refused to forfeit the game. Captain Gwenog Jones called in reserve Chaser Vesta Vamblee. They went on to win 210 – 60. _

_"Forfeiting is not what Colleen would have wanted," said fellow Chaser Susan Stresseman. "If we had forfeited the game, she would have been yelling at us, wherever she is."_

_"I can't believe she's gone," said Seeker Patricia Dwight. "She was so bright and cheerful just the other day, talking to me about how we'd beat the Arrows. And we did. She was right."_

_Further research yielded that O'Brian was the oldest of a family of five. Her father, Innis O'Brian, passed away just two years ago. _

_Additionally, although unmarried, O'Brian was found to have a child—a daughter named Atalanta, with no magical powers. She is in the care of O'Brian's younger sister, Mary Northropp, and her Muggle family._

_"Colleen was the pride of the family," Northropp said. "She was the only magical one, after all. I think we'll all remember her little antics when she was just learning magic."_

_When asked to quote, six-year-old Atalanta O'Brian said, "I miss Ma. She used to tell me about my daddy. She said he cheered the loudest whenever she flew."_

_Colleen Anna O'Brian was born 13 April 1960 and died 6 April 1985._

Sirius reread the article several times before setting it down. He stared at the picture in the upper right-hand corner of the article. The caption beneath it read, _"Colleen O'Brian and her then five-year-old daughter Atalanta. Photo by: Mary Northropp."_

In the moving picture, Colleen was hoisting up her daughter into her arms. They both were laughing. The girl had shiny black hair and a broad smile that Sirius clearly recognized, even though his hair was now dirty and matted and he no longer could smile.

But, looking at that picture, he came close.

_Absolute Fin_


End file.
